Choice Between Heaven and Hell
by ohdisco
Summary: I never thought there'd be a choice between heaven and hell; for any normal person the logical choice would be heaven. For me, well, that choice wasn't as simple. AU OOC
1. Chapter 1

***A/N* So here's the actual first chapter of the story! Be gentle, it's my first time :D. Reviews are hot like pancakes. Mmmm...pancakes.**

**As always, I'm not Stephenie Meyer, I just like to mess with her characters. Toodles lovies!**

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**Chapter One**

**BPOV**

The feel of the polyester covered cardboard hat under my fingertips felt more gratifying than I ever thought possible. The atmosphere was euphoric as my fellow classmates threw their graduation caps in the air, signifying freedom from the chains of adolescence. I looked to my left to be captivated by the face of the boy I'd grown to love. Jacob was my first boyfriend, and I was beginning to think he'd be my only. I peered to my right only to be bombarded with the largest smile I'd ever seen on the face of my best friend, Alice. Our moms had been best friends, so it only made sense that we were too. Our graduation had been a perfect day. The weather was just right, and all of our loved ones-

"FUCK YOU SUCKAS! I'M OUT WOOOO-HOOOOO!"

My head shot left and peered over Jake to witness his best friend, Quil, making an ass out of himself, as usual.

"Do you _always_ have to act like a dick?" Alice whined loudly next to me. "This is our _graduation_ from _high school_. We're supposed to be adults, so could you try to act like one?"

"Don't hate, you know you love my dick."

Alice's face scrunched up like she smelled something awful, "Oh, gross!"

Quil's eyebrows wiggled, "You're the one who brought it up shawty!"

"Dude, Quil, for the last time, you're _not_ black." Jake smacked the back of Quil's head and started to walk down the bleacher steps towards the massive crowd of family members waiting for the graduates. "Come on babe, lets go look for your mom and dad."

I got up and started following him down the stairs slowly, trying not to fall flat on my face on the metal bleachers. The moment my foot hit the ground a pair of arms embraced me in a death grip.

"I'm so proud of you kiddo!" My dad screamed in my ear as he lifted me off the ground.

I laughed happily as I returned the hug. I looked over his shoulders to see my mom, her bright smile shining in the sunlight.

"You did it sweetie. _We're_ very proud of you." My dad let go of me so I could hug my mom. She usually was a very calm person, but I could feel the excitement and joy radiating off of her. "Our dinner reservation is at 5, so we need to get going honey."

"Ok, just lemme tell Al and Jake bye and I'll meet you at the car, ok?"

My dad nodded, "Sure sure."

I ran back towards the masses to find Jake. I ran up to him and his dad, giving his dad a hug.

"So, you're leaving?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, I've got 5 O'clock dinner reservations with the parentals, so I gotta go."

Jake chuckled lightly into my hair as he gave me a lazy hug. "Alright, well, call me when you get home ok?"

"Ok, see ya." I smiled lightly and started my search for Alice. It wasn't long until I heard Alice's voice verbally going through the list of things she still needed to buy before we left for New York. Alice's eyes glanced in my direction, causing her to make a beeline straight for me.

"Bells, I –I mean _we_- need to go shopping! We only have two more days until we hit the road! I still need jeans, shirts, scarves, dresses…" Alice started off on her list of the hordes of things she absolutely had to get before we left, but my mind started to wander to our trip. Alice had been accepted with open arms to Parson's School of Design in New York City, but to get herself started towards her degree in Fashion Management, she decided to take an integrated design summer program. In a last hurrah, Jake and I decided to take her out there ourselves, via Jake's old Honda. As I started to ponder on how I was going to live without my best friend in the entire world, I remembered she was talking. "so do you wanna go shopping with me?"

"Sorry Al, I gotta go to dinner with my parents. I'll call you later ok? You can tell me everything you bought."

A look of glee shone in her eyes, "Deal! Later bells!" I watched as she practically danced her way back to her parents, giving me a little wave as I turned to head to the car. I glanced at Soquel High one last time, giving a silent thanks for all the people and experiences it allowed me to have in my life.

"Jelly Belly, come on! We're gonna be late!" My dad called from the driver's side window. I jogged to the car and climbed in. My dad started driving towards Shadowbrook Restaurant when the argument that had been floating around our house the last couple of weeks re-emerged.

My mom, as always, started it. "Bella, honey, I know you want to take Alice to New York, but do you think it's safe? I mean, I know you'll have Jake, but cross-country road trips can be extremely dangerous. You've never even been out of the state by car, and now you're going 3000 miles in one? There are horrible people that litter the roads, not to mention truckers falling asleep at the wheel, rest-stop rapists and murderers, fast cars-"

"Mom, I've already told you! We're going to be _fine_. You've gotta stop watching horror movies, you know they give you nightmares."

"It's not just the movies talking, I know more about the world and how it works than you do. There are devilish creatures lurking in every corner of this world, and I don't want you to get hurt."

I let out an exasperated sigh, and took a look at my mother. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her eyes looked lost. I took another deep breath before I spoke. "Mom, I know you're worried, and I know there are crazy people out there. I just don't think that isolating me from the world is the right thing to do. I'm not stupid. I'm not going to go to the bathroom at a horrible looking rest stop in the middle of nowhere. I'll have two friends who'll have my back whenever anything goes wrong. I know you're terrified that I'm going to get hurt, but you have to trust me that I won't let myself get hurt."

She raised her head so her eyes bore into mine. "I trust you Bella, but I'm a mom; it's my duty to worry." She gave a small smile that didn't hit her eyes, and went back to watching the road.

That night Al, Jake, and I decided to meet up the next day at the Santa Cruz Diner to go over all the details of our trip. We'd be leaving the morning after, wanting to get an early start on the trip so we could stop in weird tourist traps. As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw a familiar car parked in a familiar spot. "What is Quil doing here?"

I jumped out of my car and headed into the restaurant. I went through one of the glass doors, almost colliding into the pie display in front, and searched the diner for my friends.

"YOU ARE NOT COMING ON MY COLLEGE TRIP!" Alice's voice tore through the small diner, her face as bright as the ketchup bottle. I came at the table slowly, not wanting to make any sudden movements. If I know anything, I know you do **not** want to piss Alice off.

"Come on Alice, he's our friend." Jake tried to sneak in, but Alice's death glare made him sink back into the booth seat.

"NO JAKE, HE IS NOT _OUR_ FRIEND. HE IS _YOUR_ FRIEND. I ONLY WANT _MY_ FRIENDS TO COME ON THIS TRIP!" Alice's eyes glistened from unshed, angry tears and I sat down next to her, making her sit back down in her seat.

"You know she's just worried she'll fuck me before the trip is over." Quil cockily remarked, his face smug.

"You see Bells! YOU SEE?! This is why I don't want him on my trip! He's so…UGH!" I could see Alice calming down, but far from giving up her disgust on having Quil on our trip.

I glanced over at Jake, who was giving me a puppy dog look; he wanted his friend to go on the trip. I sighed, and looked at Alice. "Alice…-"

"Oh my god. You're choosing bros over hos aren't you? You're choosing HIS happiness over mine aren't you? How could you?! You're breaking the golden rule of girl friendship…of ANY friendship!" Although she seemed to still be upset, I could hear defeat in her voice.

"You know I love you, but I _promise_ that Quil will be on his best behavior," I gave Quil an evil stare, "Won't we Quil?"

Quil stuttered, "Uh-uh, yeah. B-best behavior!"

I saw Alice shaking her head, but then a smile started to form on her face, "So…what cool places are we gonna hit on our ROAD TRIP?!"

As we talked about the weird sights we were going to see on our 2965-mile trip to Fifth Avenue, Alice started to loosen up to Quil, who was extremely excited about eating at Tony Packo's. He started ranting and raving about some famous coney dog while we all just rolled our eyes.

I started making my way to my car after our little meeting when Jake grabbed me by the waist. "I love you, you know that right?

Knowing this full well, I replied, "Of course. Why would you think I didn't?"

He hesitated a little bit before continuing. "It's just, we're going to be on our own for the first time ever, and I want…I dunno, I just want to be _with_ you."

I took a step back, trying to get out of his arms, but he locked them around me. "Jake, we've talked about this, and I'm just not ready. I know we've been going out for what seems like forever, but I just turned 18, I'm in no rush." I looked up at his face only to be met with an eye roll and a "I know" as he let me go.

"I love you though, _you_ know that don't you?"

He nodded, "yeah yeah, sure sure. Well, I gotta get going…gotta go pack. I'll see you bright and early though."

I looked up and smiled. Standing on my tip-toes, I gave him a sweet peck against his cheek and told him goodnight.

That night I lay in my bed looking at the ceiling. I started to think of this trip and how much fun we were going to have. I started to drift into what my mom was saying, preaching to me about the dangers of the road. Devilish creatures? Please. Everyone knows demons aren't real.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: We do not own Twilight…unfortunately. Or anything from Flo Rida.**

**Thank you for all the people who put this on alert! We love you!**

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**BPOV**

"God Alice, do you really need this much luggage? I thought you shipped all your shit to New York already." My boyfriend complained and he shoved the last of Alice's luggage into the trunk. I have no idea how he fit everything in and we still hadn't picked up Quil.

Alice stood on the sidewalk with her hands on her tiny hips, foot tapping impatiently. "I have to be prepared for _any_ type of weather and we are crossing about 10 states, fashion is different in each state, Jake."

Jake rolled his eyes. I smiled sadly, as I watched them from my porch, realizing this would be one of the last times that I would hear these two bickering over nothing.

A set of arms wrapped themselves around my shoulders. "You okay, sweetie?" my dad asked quietly.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I could feel the tears starting to well up and I promised myself that I wasn't going to cry. Damn tears. My mother picked that moment to come barreling out of the house.

"Do you have everything? Directions? Clothes? Food? Gas? Jake, did you get your car checked out? Bella,--are you crying?" she stopped in front of me, her eyes frantically searching mine.

I shook my head, biting my lower lip. "No, the suns just bright. Hurts my eyes."

She stared at me for a minute longer then shrugged, turning away to go question Jake some more. I felt my dad kiss the top of my head.

"Bells!" Jake yelled impatiently, walking quickly towards me to escape my mother. "Let's go! I told Quil we would be there an hour ago. Alice, get in the car!"

Alice gave me a questioning look and climbed into the back. Jake was not a morning person, add my mother to the mix and he was Mr. Sunshine. It had been his idea to leave at 6 am. I turned slowly towards my dad as he pulled me into a giant hug.

"Please be safe. I'm going to worry this whole time, you know that, right?" he asked softly.

"I know. I promise to call every night when we stop."

"You better." I heard as my mother walked up behind me. "And don't think I won't be listening to see if you're really sharing a room with Jake instead of Alice. I was young once, too, you know."

My mouth dropped open, "Mom! That's---how---I---" I had no idea what to say. Luckily she didn't press further; instead she grabbed me and pulled me to her in death grip. "Remember, stick to the main highways, don't stop at those motels that don't have all the letters lit up, and please don't pick up hitchhikers."

I laughed, "As if they would want to share the backseat with Alice and Quil."

"I heard that!" Alice shouted from the car.

As we broke from the hug my mom didn't pull completely away from me, instead she held me at an arms distance and stared intently into my eyes. So many emotions fluttered through her eyes that I couldn't grasp just one. I wanted to say something, anything, but I didn't know what. As I opened my mouth to hopefully say something clever, she removed one hand from me and pulled something out of her pocket. She stared at the small box that she now held handing it to me. I slowly took it from her, giving her a questioning look. She just smiled. With shaking hands I opened the top of the box and gasped.

"It's been in the family for centuries, my mother gave it to me, her mother gave it to her…" She took a deep breath. "And now I'm passing it down to you."

Very carefully I removed the necklace from the box laying it across my palm. It would be just like me to drop it. I stared down at the glass crystal; it was a beautiful shade of topaz and when the light hit it just right you could make out what looked like some sort of crest that was melded into the back. The crystal itself was encased in a bronze-like finish that matched the chain.

"Mom, it's beautiful." She beamed as she carefully lifted the chain off my hand and clasped it around my neck. I felt a slight tingle when the crystal touched my bare skin but then nothing. I chalked it up to nerves.

Jake put a hand on my shoulder, "We really need to go."

I nodded. The goodbyes to my parents were relatively quick since I'm pretty sure they had said all they needed to say the week leading up to today. As I was hugging my mother I couldn't help but feel like something changed, like there was a weight that hadn't been there before and no, it wasn't the necklace. When Jake pulled away from the curb I allowed myself one more glance back at my home capturing the picture of my parents standing with their arms around one another. I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.

"Hey, if I can't sleep, neither can you." Jake nudged me.

The corner of my mouth turned up slightly. "You're driving." I said without opening my eyes. I swear I could hear when he rolled his eyes. Something brushed against my throat causing me to jump. My eyes shot open and a set of brown eyes were staring back at me.

"God Alice, give me a heart attack."

She grinned. "What's this?" she asked, fingering the crystal.

I shrugged. "My mom just gave it to me. Apparently it's been in the family for awhile and she decided it was my turn. And before you say anything, I know this necklace doesn't go with my outfit-"

"Necklace?" she cut me off. "Bella, sweetie, you obviously know nothing about jewelry." I shot her a questioning look. "Nothing that old is an ordinary necklace and look at the design. Someone handcrafted that thing, it's like an amulet or something."

"An amulet?" Jake scoffed. "Lay off the Charmed reruns, Alice."

"Shut up, Jake" Alice retorted, throwing herself against the backseat and crossing her arms over her chest.

We pulled up to Quil's house 5 minutes later. He was waiting on the curb with his backpack on his lap. He jumped up quickly when he saw us approach.

"What's up, bitches?" he asked, opening the back door and tossing his backpack at Alice before climbing in.

Alice's nose turned up in disgust as she pushed the backpack away, "Is this all you're bringing?"

"Yeah. It's got everything I need. My iPod, a couple comics, a couple shirts, some socks and my under things. A box of condoms."

I giggled. "Under things?"

Quil leaned forward, "Yes, my dear Bella, under things. See, you and your boy toy Jake here don't need to know what I prefer to enclose my manhood in." he sat back and leaned in closer to Alice. "However, you, my Shawty, can find out anytime you like."

"Eeewww…Bella!" Alice screeched.

"Quil!" Jake and I shouted.

Quil threw his hands up in surrender, "Behave. I know." He winked at Alice before sliding back to his side. "So, who's picking the tunes?"

We all looked at each other. _Uh-oh._

"Right there! There's a Motel 6! Pull over now!" Alice shouted practically banging on Jake's headrest.

Jake swatted her hand away. "I see it, shit, fucking calm down, Alice."

You knew it was bad when Alice was excited about a Motel 6.

We had been on the road for about 18 hours now. Jake was on mission to set some record for fastest time getting across the country because the only time we stopped was for gas and to grab lunch outside of Reno. 18 hours. 18 hours of fighting over who picked the music. 18 hours of Alice threatening to remove multiple body parts from Quil. 18 hours of Jake yelling at other motorists. I needed out of this car. I loved my friends, but I was ready to kill each one of them.

"Where we at?" Quil asked stretching once we scrambled out of the car.

"Some place called Rock Springs." I answered following Jake into the office.

"Where the fuck is that?" I heard Quil ask.

"Hell if I know." Alice shot back.

We reserved two rooms then spent the next 20 minutes arguing who was staying in what room. Alice refused to share with any of the guys. Quil was at the point where he just wanted a shower and of course Jake was adamant that he stay with me. Truthfully I didn't want to share with Jake. The two of us alone in a motel room, I didn't even want to deal with that. After much grumbling from Jake we finally decided that the rooms would be same sex only. Jake was so pissed at my choice of Alice over him that he didn't even kiss my goodnight.

"Damn, bro, your own boo don't got love for you, that's cold." I heard Quil mutter as they walked into their room. I sighed and followed Alice into ours.

"I thought this was a non-smoking room." Alice said, holding up the corner of her bed sheet to show me an obvious cigarette burn. Ah, the charms of a Motel 6.

I quickly called my parents and after assuring my mom that all the doors and windows were locked, I crawled into bed and was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

_Knock, knock._

"Ladies, let's go. We're burning daylight here." Jake shouted through the door.

"We are seriously having a talk with them today." Alice grumbled.

An hour later, we were all showered, dressed, and sitting in a corner booth at Denny's.

Alice cleared her throat. "So, we need to lay some ground rules here because I am not getting back in that poor excuse of a car until we do."

Jake set down his fork, "And what exactly do you mean?" he asked annoyed.

"Well, first, slow the fuck down! This isn't NASCAR. I was pretty sure you left half your transmission back in Salt Lake."

Quil laughed choking on his pancake.

"Second, this is the last time that I will be spending a significant amount of time with Bella and I WANT it to be memorable. No more 20 hours of just driving. Meaning we will stop more so that we can enjoy the sights."

"You mean the shops." Jake mumbled as I elbowed him.

Alice pretended not to hear him, "We need to breathe and stretch, Jake. I will NOT be turned into a pretzel in the backseat of your car." She took a deep breath. "And now onto the music."

"Amen, girl. We need to get this under control." Quil agreed. I nodded.

"I propose that we have music shifts. Obviously we all don't have the same musical tastes and this way everyone gets to hear what they want. I say, an hour or two a person? Who's with me?" Alice was practically bouncing in her seat. Man, this girl loved to be in control.

"Fine with me, I can get my flow on easy." Quil responded laying his arm over the back of Alice's chair. She scrunched up her nose but didn't complain. See, progress.

"Sounds good" I answered. We all looked at Jake.

"Fine, but Alice can I request that you rein in the pop songs a little. There are only so many boy bands I can listen to in a row before I want to kill myself."

Alice bit the inside of her cheek, narrowing her eyes. After a moment she smiled, "Agreed."

We spent the rest of breakfast mapping out how much ground we wanted to cover. Thanks to Jakes need for speed we already covered 4 states. Quil was slightly down when he discovered that we wouldn't be eating at Tony Packo's yet, but perked up at the thought of driving through corn fields in Iowa. Who knew?

An hour later we piled back into the car. In an act of kindness, Alice let Jake start the music picks. This seemed to lift his mood as he flitted through his iPod.

"Aha!" He grinned finally picking one. "I think we will all enjoy this one."

He put the car in reverse as the music started. The guitar riffs for "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi played through the speakers. I smiled remembering the hours Alice and I watched the boys play this on Rock Band determined to both get 100%. We all started signing at the top of our lungs as soon as we heard Jon.

I had to hand it to Alice, dividing up the music was genius. The boys still complained when Alice or I played something they considered 'too poppy', but unlike yesterday where it was mean, today it was teasing. Alice and I even caught them singing along to "I Want It That Way". I am pretty sure that we had the most random mix that ever existed. We had Flo Rida, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, 2Pac, The Shins and many more I can't even begin to remember.

Jake didn't drive 90 and I was able to enjoy the country a little more, it was then that I realized there wasn't much to enjoy. When we crossed into Iowa Quil begged Jake to stop so he could run through a corn field. The crazy part was, Jake did stop and Quil did run through a corn field and he came back slightly cut up from the stalks. Alice taped the whole thing on her camera. The best part of it all was that we laughed.

That night we stayed at a Holiday Inn for Alice. According to her, the Holiday Inn was like the Hilton compared to Motel 6. I shared with Alice again and while I could tell that Jake was disappointed, he didn't say anything this time.

The next morning Quil was practically bounding around the parking lot.

"What is with you?" Alice asked.

"Shawty, today is the day that I finally get to feast on the world's best coney dog."

Alice looked over at me and we both rolled our eyes as we got in the car. Before we left Iowa we made sure to stop at a local Farmer's Market so Quil could buy some corn. When I asked him what his obsession with corn was, all I got was a smile and a, "Bella, Bella, Bella…what person doesn't enjoy the fulfillment of a deliciously prepared ear of corn?"

I was so taken back by his reply that I just stared while Alice and Jake burst out laughing. We stopped for lunch somewhere in Illinois; Quil barely ate anything stating that he was saving room. The most amazing part was that Quil and Alice were starting to actually coexist without too much flirting/hitting. The highlight came when Quil's music pick started.

_Shawty had them Apple Bottom Jeans _

_Boots with the fur _

_The whole club lookin at her _

_She hit the floor [She hit the floor] _

_Next thing you know _

_Shawty got low low low low low low low low _

Alice and I started bouncing in our seats, shouting the chorus at the top of our lungs because it was the only part that we knew. We were even attempting to get 'low' in our seats when the song called for it. The look that Quil gave Alice was pure adoration.

At about 5pm we crossed into Toledo. Quil had his printed map out and was shouting directions to Jake.

"This better be the best damn hot dog ever." Jake whispered to me. I grinned at him.

When we finally saw the sign Quil could barely contain his excitement. He was out of car before Jake fully put it in park.

"We're here!" he shouted into the air. He ran around the car and pulled Alice up into a hug, completely lifting her off the ground. She squealed as he spun her around and then **SMACK**!

"God damn it, Quil! That was not an invitation to grab my ass!" Alice yelled chasing after him.

Jake rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand as we followed them into the restaurant. I had to admit, the place smelled amazing. We found a booth towards the back while we perused the menu. This place loved hot dogs and cabbage…okay, a slightly weird mix. Alice and I each ordered the Hot Dog Combo #1 which came with a loaded hot dog and salad. Jake ordered the Sausage Platter and Quil ordered the Hot Dog Combo #2 which was pretty much the same as mine except he got a salad and mashed potatoes with his and he ordered an extra hot dog. It was a ton of food and I'm pretty sure that someone was going to have to roll the boys out but it was worth it to see Quil's face when he took that first bite.

"Mm-hmm…better than sex." He moaned. Alice giggled. I shook my head.

"I wouldn't know." Jake mumbled. My head shot up. He wasn't looking at me but down at his food. I don't think that Quil heard him through all his moaning but I saw Alice shoot me a worried look.

Once we were sure that Quil had his fill and got a picture with the cook, we piled back into the car. I was so full from the food that after awhile the soothing feel of the road lulled me into sleep. The last thing I remember seeing was a state sign.

_Welcome to Pennsylvania._

­­­**A/N:**

There's a link to a picture of Bella's amulet on my profile page.

Tony Packo's is a chain of restaurants in Ohio that was made famous after it was mentioned in M*A*S*H.

Rock Springs is in Wyoming in case you wanted to know.

Please review and let us know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

***A/N: As with every chapter, we don't own anything Stephenie Meyer created, but we do like to play with her characters oh so very much :D **

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewing, story alerting, or author alerting. It really makes our day.**

**Reviews are like Tony Packo's Coney Dogs. Quil obviously thinks highly of them.***

**Chapter 3**

**BPOV**

_I didn't know how long I'd been running, but I could feel my legs starting to falter under me as I raced through the halls. I didn't know where exactly I was; the only thing I was sure of was the monster I had encountered, and that it wanted me dead. I heard the beast coming closer, my strength and speed waning with every second the clock ticked. I saw an open door, and for some reason I knew it was my sanctuary from the evil creature on my tail. Relief gave me a burst of adrenaline, causing me to rush through the door and lock it shut before the monster could get in. Loud banging and wood creaking echoed throughout the room. The darkness was thick as the only light cast was from the moon shining through a small window in the corner. The moment I started to survey my surroundings I felt a presence in the room with me. Frightened, I slowly turned around only to see the shadow of a person. It looked to be a man, but I couldn't tell in the darkness._

"_Hello? Who are you?" I called out to the stranger lurking in the shadows. He said nothing, but quickly looked at me with the most piercing green eyes I'd ever seen. They cut the darkness in the room like a knife and made me speechless._

"_It's you. Finally you." The man's voice was barely audible over the rumbling of the door, but the whisper caressed me like a delicate breeze. While his alluring eyes were drawing me closer to him, his words confused me and kept me where I was standing._

"_What do you mean? Who are you?"_

"_You finally came." Every whisper he breathed lead me further into confusion. The banging increased in sound as the wood began to splinter and break under the pressure of the monster's blows. Frightened, I backed away from the green eyed man and the door, preparing to protect myself._

"_Only you Bella, only you."_

"_I don't understand, what do you mean?" I screamed at him, but before he could answer, the door keeping the monster from coming inside broke at the hinges, and I was staring face to face with the beast._

******

I shot up from my seat, a sheen film of sweat covering my body. After a couple of seconds, I regained my senses and realized everyone was shouting.

"I can't BELIEVE you got us lost! How does one get LOST on a trip like this?! It's ONE fucking highway all the way to New Jersey!" Alice's face was beat red and her death stare was pointed right at the driver of the car, Jake.

Groggily, I looked at her. "Where are we?"

She quickly turned her glare onto me, her eyes wild with annoyance. "Bum-fuck-ville Pennsylvania. Seems genius boy here can't fucking read a map and got us all kinds of lost in the middle of Pennsylvania."

"Alice, quit it! God, I said I was sorry!" Jake looked frantic. His hair was tussled wildly and he looked like he was only surviving on Caffeine.

"So, what happened?" I rubbed Jake's shoulder, trying to calm him down, but he shrugged it off.

"Well, we were running out of gas, so I pulled off the interstate to get some. It wasn't right off the road, so I had to travel a little ways to find a gas station. I thought I was going exactly the way I came when I was full up, but I guess I must've turned on a wrong road or something."

"Well, do we have any ideas as to what town we're in?" I questioned the group.

"Well, we just passed a sign for Endeavor, but the city isn't on the map." Jacob explained. Alice slightly growled and leaned back into her seat.

Trying to fix matters, I came up with a simple solution, "Well, next time we see any kind of store, we'll just stop and ask for directions."

"I second that!" Quil shouted, finally coming into the conversation. "I'm so fucking hungry. If we don't get me some munchies soon I'mma start going all Donner on all y'all." Alice and I stared at him incredulously.

A confused look came upon Quil's face, "…what?"

"Dude, you ate like 5 hours ago!" I looked towards Jake to see him staring at Quil through his rearview mirror.

His confused deepened. "Your point?"

Jacob just shook his head and went back to concentrating on the road. "Anyways, Bells, it's close to Midnight; I don't think anything on this road is going to be open this late." The moment he uttered those words, a dim glow could be seen down the highway. Coming closer to it, the building started to take shape, with gas pumps outlining the property and a convenience store with a neon "open" sign towards the back. I gave a smirk to Jake, who in return rolled his eyes and started heading for the store.

"It's a good thing this place is a gas station; I dunno how much longer we would've been able to go on that road." Jake mumbled while stumbling out of his car. Quil, supposedly starving, leaped out of the car to follow Jake into the shop.

"Bella, come back here right now! I need to talk to you!" Alice scolded. Wondering what I did wrong, I started to climb out of the car and into the backseat.

**EMPOV**

Tonight was boring, just like every other night. Being a gas station clerk on a desolate highway was a pain in the ass. The only people that ever came in were weird kids obsessed with the fact that they were driving Route 666 or people who were lost. I tried to keep my pessimism to a dull roar though, knowing that it'd just drive me insane to mope about my boring life all night. I started cleaning the coffee pot when Jasper rolled onto the sales floor.

"Hey Em, I think there's people outside." I looked to my left to see two young guys coming up to the store. _The girls must be waiting in the car; guys don't usually come in for directions on their own accord_ I thought to myself. I walked back to the counter as they opened the door.

The scrawnier of the two boys spoke first, "Yo Gomey, y'all got an IHOP near here, cause I HUNGRY and pancakes sound fucking delicious."

The comment seemed to make his irritable looking friend that much more annoyed, "Shut the fuck up Quil, and what the hell is a Gomey?"

The one named Quil started to walk towards the chip aisle as he explained, "You just wouldn't get it J-dawg. You just wouldn't get it."

The annoyed one glared at the back of Quil's head before turning his attention towards me. "Hey, my name is Jake and I'm looking to get back on the 80."

**BPOV**

Alice practically dragged me into the seat the moment I opened the door. She reached over me to close the door, almost slamming my leg in the process.

"Jesus Alice, what's wrong?" I stared at her, confused by the bizarrely frantic look on her face.

"You and Jacob, that's what's wrong!" She gestured toward the seats we'd been occupying for the nearly 38 hours we'd been driving.

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong." Although I'd meant it, I couldn't help but feel that the words were insincere. The moment I'd said that nothing was wrong, things just started popping up in my mind. _Why is he always pressuring intimacy? Why does he get mad at me because I want to wait? Why does he always get what he wants?_

"Please, I can tell that something is wrong. What he said in Tony Packo's? Completely inappropriate! I mean, I understand that he wants sex, but come on. I don't know Bella, I just don't think he's the one." I glanced out my window into the darkness of the Pennsylvania wilderness. _Maybe she's right…_ the moment I thought that, I simply banished it away. What was I supposed to do without him?

"Bella, I know you're thinking I'm wrong, but I'm not. I can just tell the way you look at one another that you don't mesh well anymore. You guys have nothing in common, and he's turned into a selfish asshole. You're my best friend and I know that at some point down the road you're going to regret being with him if you stay in this relationship. You guys aren't even friends; you're just in this weird quasi-relationship where you just go along with whatever he says because you don't want to be alone." Her words hit something inside of me, causing traitor tears to leak down my face. I knew what she was saying was true; I just wasn't going to do anything about it.

"Alice, I love him, and he loves me. I just don't know why I would leave him if he's done nothing wrong."

"He HAS done things wrong! There's no compromising with him, he yells at you, he forces you into situations you don't like, and he makes you unhappy. Being happy is the most important part of a relationship, and you seriously lack in happiness at the moment."

Annoyed with her assumptions, I quickly snapped at her, "I've been in a small car driving for days, how do you expect me to feel? Do you expect rainbows and sunshine to follow me wherever I go?"

"No, but I expect you to want to be near your boyfriend. I expect your boyfriend to kiss you goodnight _even if _ he's not getting his way. I expect your boyfriend to treat you with respect and not talk rudely about you in front of your friends. I expect you to respect yourself more than this, and not just take it in stride when he does. I know you're a strong woman, so act like it; stop being a little baby and demand happiness. It's the only way you're going to get it." At that, she quickly jumped out of the car and headed to the store. I sat there for a few minutes, letting everything slowly sink in. It felt awful.

**EMPOV**

"The 80? Well, you're gonna wanna go east on the 666-"

Quil interrupted me with a frightened look on his face, "Did you just say the 666? We're doomed! We're gonna die! I knew I shouldn't have come on this trip. My mom knew too. She told me before I left 'QUILLIE BOY, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DRIVIN' THOUSANDS OF MILES IN A CAR, DANGEROUS PEOPLE AND PLACES ARE EVERYWHERE' and she was right! This is all YOUR fault Jakey, ALL your fault."

Jake smacked Quil, causing him to drop all the merchandise in his hands onto the floor. "Dude, calm the fuck down, you're being a girl. So, I go east on the 666, and then?"

"Well, you go east on 666, turn right on Byromtown Rd, turn right onto the 66, turn left onto the - why don't I just write this down for you, just in case you forget?"

Jake chuckled and leaned onto the counter, causing his hair to fall into his eyes, "That sounds perfect."

As I was writing the directions down, a small figured girl started to jog towards the entrance. She looked fine, but I could tell she was slightly upset.

"Dude boys, what's takin' you guys so long? Bella and I want to find some place to sleep SOON. It's tiring having the person you trust to drive the car correctly to totally fuck up everything." She placed her hands on her hips as she stared directly at Jake. I looked away from her and glanced out the window to find another girl walking up to the store. She was taller than the girl glaring at Jake, and looked to be womanlier than her as well. Her long chestnut hair swayed slightly in the breeze, causing it to delicately caress her cheeks. What caught me were her lovely dark chocolate eyes. While clouded with fatigue, I could still see an inkling of sorrow in them. The moment I saw her I knew she'd be perfect.

"It's a long drive from here to New York though; there's a bed and breakfast just up the road you guys can stay at. I know the guy, and I could give him a call to say you guys are on your way."

The beautiful girl stood near the door, slightly leaning against a rack of magazines. She peered at me with her sad eyes and stared before she spoke. "Won't that be bothersome? It's getting to be pretty late."

"Don't worry about it, he stays up really late anyway. So, you guys want me to call?"

Jake nodded his head, "Sure, that'd be good. Thank you so much for everything; you've been a lifesaver." I looked over to Jasper, slowly shaking his head. He had been helping Quil hold his items, but almost dropped them when I mentioned the B&B. The tiny girl offered a smile to Jasper and I, grabbed Bella's hand, and started to race back to the car. Jake shook my hand and followed suit. As I was ringing up Quil's purchases, he turned to Jas and patted him on his back.

"Thanks for the help Wheels!" Jasper lowered his head and glowered at the kid while I tried to conceal my laughter. Quil ran out of the store and Jasper's glower went from the kid to me. I took a step back, clearly affected by the glare.

"Why are you doing this again?" He turned his wheelchair towards me so he could look directly at me. "Why did you do that?"

I had no reason but the truth, "I think she's the one."

He slammed his hands down on the counter and growled, "Damnit Emmett! You ALWAYS think you've found the one and then look what happens! I mean, I want him back just as much as the next person, but this is just not the way to do it."

His anger lit my own, causing me to snap back at him, "At least I'm trying to fix him, unlike everyone else in this fucking world that just abandoned him. I will do everything in my power to make him better, even if that means I direct every fucking girl that walks in here to his door." With that I walked briskly around the counter and went into the back. I didn't need Jasper's glare to burn my skin anymore.

**BPOV**

As Jake talked to the man behind the counter, I could feel the man staring at me intensely. I felt like I was being examined, like I might be the answer to something. I tried to look away from him, but his intensity drew my vision back to his eyes. Whenever I looked into them, it felt like he could read all the sadness and problems in my soul. The whole situation was making me uncomfortable, so I was glad when he suggested a Bed and Breakfast to stay at, and a safe trip to New York. Alice smiled at the man, grabbed my arm, and drug me out to the car.

"I'm not mad at you Bells, I just want what's best for you, and I don't believe that's Jake. I know you won't change your mind because of what I say, but I want you to think about it. Think about what you want in life and if Jake is a part of that."

I looked into her eyes and saw sincerity and love in them. It caused my eyes to well up a bit, but I quickly blinked the tears away.

"Of course Al. You know I love you, and I know you only want what's best for me. Like you said, I just need to figure shit out on my own." I gave her a hug, and a giggle erupted from her. I gave her a quizzical glance and she just giggled again.

"That guy in there was TOTALLY staring at you!"

A smile broke on my face and a small laugh escaped from my lips, "I know! It was super creepy!" The tension from our earlier conversation was over, which was a relief. I heard two footsteps quickly catching up to us as Jacob ran by us and hopped into his car.

"So, do you guys want to stop at the B&B or do you want to keep driving?"

Alice smacked the top of his head and ruffled his hair a bit, "Jakey boy, we've been in this car for HOURS and it's almost 1 in the morning. We are GOING to stop this car to sleep whether you like it or not."

Quil jumped into the car and gave a thumbs up, indicating he was ready. "You guys can breath now, no worries of cannibalism tonight!" We rolled our eyes and headed east on the road.

"He said it was on Hazleton Hill Road a ways, so let me know when you see it, ok Bells?"

"Ok Jake." The car went silent besides the crinkling bag of Quil's chips after that. I stared out my window, hypnotized by the darkness the trees gave off, as well as frightened by it. _It's Blair Witch status here…_ my head thought, but I quickly cast that thought away, worried that I would freak out more if I dwelled on that fact. The road started to get much more windy as the minutes passed, and a bead of sweat started to form on Jacob's forehead. On a huge turn, a loud smack was heard from the backseat.

"Stop touching my thigh Quil!" Alice screeched from the backseat. I heard Jake mumbling under his breath, but I couldn't hear the words he was saying.

"Yo, I didn't mean to shawty, you know you've got a magnetic pull on me baby!"

"Eck, I'm not your baby. How much further is this place?" Alice started whining at Jacob about how far it was when it happened. His hand swung backwards as he tried to bat Alice away, causing him to lose some of his control over the car.

"Jake watch out!" was all I was able to scream before we skidded off of the road, slamming into a tree. The only noise that could be heard was the groaning of the car right before Quil's overdramatic agony.

"OH GOD IT HURTS! I THINK MY ARM IS BROKEN – NO WAIT – IT'S MY LEG! HELP, SOMEONE PLEASE!"

"Shut up Quil." Jacob snapped with a deep growl to his voice. For once, Quil actually shut up. I looked at Jacob, who was bleeding a little on his forehead. He turned to stare at me, but a look of anger filled his eyes.

"I can't believe this. My CAR! What are we going to do?" Everyone besides me started shouting at the same time about aches, pains, and annoyances about our collision.

Trying to calm the group down, I silenced everyone with a "Shh!" and spoke as softly as I could considering the situation. "Let's just get out of the car and see if we can find that Bed and Breakfast that the guy from the store was talking about." Everybody agreed in unison and slowly made their way out of the car.

"What about our stuff? I have thousands of dollars in clothing that I don't want to leave on the side of the road!" I gave a small glare to Alice, who surprisingly also shut up. The moment we made it back to the road a huge mansion loomed in the shadows on a hill. The estate was intimidating in the night, causing my breathing to catch for a moment. It was pitch black besides a small light above the large double doors that led into the house. We walked up the steep driveway, only to be frozen by fear while looking at the house up close. Jacob, being the brave one of the group, chuckled at our frightened states and told us to "come on" and follow him. We walked up to the huge doors, and Jacob rang the doorbell. We stood there in silence for a few minutes before the knob on one of the doors began to creak. The door slowly opened, the darkness inside of the house seemingly more dangerous than the darkness outside. It opened a slight bit more, which allowed me to see the brightest green eyes I'd ever seen. Flabbergasted by the man's eyes being so close in color and brightness to the one's I'd seen on the man in my dream a few hours ago, I barely heard him speak.

"Good evening."

*****

**Yay! The 3****rd**** chapter is up! Go to my (ohdisco) profile for the link to Edward's house.**

**We hope you enjoyed it, and hopefully you keep reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: We do not own Twilight, yet again.**

********

**Chapter 4**

**BPOV**

"Good evening."

The door opened wider and revealed the most beautiful man I had ever seen. His face held an expression of surprise before his gaze met mine. His eyes widened slightly, a mixture of emotions passed through them. Many I didn't recognize but the ones I was able to did nothing to calm my nerves. Surprise, hostility, and the most frightening, hunger. The last sent shivers up my spine.

Jake stepped forward drawing the man's gaze to him. "Hey man, umm, we're kind of in a bind. The guy down at the store told us that you might be able to help us."

His gaze passed over all of us again, lingering on me longer than the rest. Jake noticed this and put his arm around my shoulders pulling me closer to his side.

"Yes, I received a call that told me you might be in need of a place to stay." His voice was like velvet. It wrapped around me causing goose bumps to break out on my arms. I snuggled closer to Jake. "My name is Edward Cullen. Welcome to my home. Please, come in." He stepped to the side pulling the door wider and motioned for us to enter.

"Thank you. I'm Jake. This is Quil and Alice. And this is my girlfriend, Bella." Jake kissed the top of my head and squeezed my shoulder.

Quil stepped up to the door, "Yo man, you got some food up in here? I know it's not breakfast time or anything, but I am in some serious need of pancakes."

Mr. Cullen nodded his head once, "I believe I have some pancake mix in the kitchen. You are free to help yourselves after you all get settled."

"Sweet, man." Quil slapped his hand down on inn keeper's shoulder causing him to jump slightly. His face hardened as he looked at Quil's hand, eyes narrowing. Quil however took no notice. "I knew you were all right. Even if your crib is hella creepy. You know what would be perfect, have you ever seen the Addams Family? You know that dude, Lurch? That's what you need. Some man in a suit opening the door with a creepy 'You rang?". Now that would be cool, you know…" he trailed off as he took finally looked at Mr. Cullen. Whatever he saw stopped him cold. He quickly removed his hand and took a step back bumping into the doorway.

"Quil, leave the man alone." Jake said, oblivious to the tension that arose. He lightly shoved Quil on the arm getting him to step aside so he could walk into the house. Quil quickly followed not wanting to be left behind.

Those green eyes started to turn back towards me. I quickly shifted my gaze to Alice who was staring back at me with a strange expression on her face. I gave her a questioning look but she just shook her head.

She leaned close to my ear, "I don't know what's creepier, the house or the owner." She smirked at my dumbfound look and grabbed my hand, pulling me through the door. "Let's not tell Renee about this mini adventure, agreed?"

Oh shoot, I forgot all about my nightly calls to Renee.

I tugged on Alice's hand getting her to stop as I stood in front of our host. Gathering all my courage I turned towards him and looked up into his eyes. I drew in a breath. His face was inches from mine, his eyes staring into mine, penetrating. Green…all I saw was green.

"Bella?"

Breaking my trance I turned towards my friends. Alice was still holding my hand, but she had a small smile on her face. Quil was behind her impatiently jumping from foot to foot while his eyes roamed around the room. Jake had moved up next to Alice when he called my name. His hands were in fists at his side, his whole body tense. However his anger wasn't directed at me, it was the man standing next to me.

"Bella?" Jake repeated. Still not looking at me he held his hand out towards me. "Come here please." He requested.

I took a step in his direction before I remembered that I was going to ask a question.

"Excuse me, Mr. Cullen—" I started.

"Please, call me Edward." The velvet voice interrupted.

"Ed-Edward" I stammered. "Do you have a phone I could use? I need to call my mother." As soon as the words left my mouth I wanted to take them back. How lame could I possibly sound? I needed to call my mother, geez Bella. I felt a slight blush forming on my cheeks. _Way to seem mature Bella, having to call your mommy. _

Edward nodded curtly in my direction. "Of course. You can use it once you get settled."

Alice tugged on my hand, "I already called her, Bella." I looked at her confused. "I called her when you were asleep before Jake got us lost." She stared pointedly at Jake.

"Shut up, Alice" Jake snapped.

"Anyways" Alice turned back to me, "It's all taken care of. I told her we were stopping for the night and that you were passed out already. I got your back, girlfriend."

I smiled at her. "Thank you."

Quil walked up then throwing one arm over each of us.

"Not to interrupt this little girly love you two got going on here, but can we get to our rooms? I'm still hungry here and the sooner we get settled, the sooner we eat."

Alice slapped Quil's hand away and stepped towards Edward. "So, all of our luggage is in the car that Mario Andretti over there smacked into one of your trees. Do you have like a bellhop or something that can help us bring them in or something, cause there is no way in hell I can carry all that in myself."

Edward looked at Alice. "I do not employ a bellhop. There is only me. I will help you with your bags."

Quil cocked his head to the side. "Only you? In this massive crib? Dude, you must have mad skills."

"It's not as hard as it looks." Edward replied. "Your bags, shall we?" He walked out into the night.

I started to follow him when Jake grabbed my arm. "You and Alice stay here. Let's go Quil." He dropped my arm suddenly and disappeared out the door.

"Aww man, that ain't even my shit out there. This is why I only pack one bag. This shit ain't fair." Quil grumbled following Jake out.

We were left in silence. I looked over at Alice who just shrugged back at me. I gazed around the room we were in. It was large and circular and to say it was huge would be an understatement. This room was bigger than my whole house. There was a fireplace in the wall to our right. On our left was a giant staircase that that spiraled up to the second floor. A set of closed double doors sat in between. Everything was done in wood. There were no decorations leaving the room to feel bare and impersonal. Weren't Bed & Breakfast places supposed to feel warm and welcoming? I shivered again.

"You okay?" Alice asked standing in front of me.

I nodded. "Yeah, just cold. This place feels so open."

"Mmm…" Alice mused looking around. "It's very…interesting."

A dark blur shot past us. "Holy shit it's cold! And wet! I'm sorry but Quil don't do rain." Quil complained in the corner shaking drops of water off his body.

"Is it raining?" I asked confused. The sky was clear except for a few clouds when we arrived.

Quil looked over at me flabbergasted. "Naw, Bella. It ain't raining. I just decided it was time for an outdoor shower." He gestured to his clothes before stomping his foot. "Yes, my sista, it is raining! More like we're drowning here."

"Damn it, Quil!" Jake shouted walking through the door weighed down by luggage also looking soaked. "Did you really have to drop everything and run? It's just water!"

"Like I said, Quil don't do water!"

Alice's head shot up. "Wait, who's bags did you drop?" Quil looked down sheepishly. Alice stomped over to him and slapped the back of his head. "Those are Louis Vuitton suitcases! Do you have any idea what they're worth?"

"Damn, shorty! They're just suitcases. Ow!" he screamed, cowering behind the staircase as Alice continued to pummel him.

Jake sighed loudly from beside me. "Whose brilliant idea was this trip again?" he asked under his breath as he set down the luggage and walked over to Alice and Quil.

I closed my eyes. This was going to be a long night. A noise came from behind me. Turning around I saw Edward standing in the doorway holding the rest of the bags, including mine. Leaving Jake to deal with our friends I slowly walked over to Edward.

"Here, let me take that." I reached out to grab my suitcase. My hand slid up the handle until it came in contact with his. A sharp jolt of electricity shot through me and I dropped my hold. Unfortunately, so did he and my suitcase fell to the floor with a clang that echoed through the house. We stared at each other, neither one making an effort to retrieve the fallen luggage. His face was slightly flushed from being outside, droplets of water were glistening on his eyelashes. I watched as a single drop made its way down the side of his face before falling off of his jaw. I had to fight the urge to reach out and touch him. I wanted nothing more than to run my hands through his disheveled hair. What was going on with me?

"My apologies, Miss." He finally spoke bringing my gaze back up to his eyes.

"Bella." I choked out. "Please call me Bella."

A crooked smile played on his lips, "Bella" he repeated his voice no louder than a whisper. "Beautiful." I felt my blush creeping back up and was thankful that I was the only one close enough to hear. Not wanting to make a fool of myself anymore I leaned down and picked my suitcase off the floor. Just as I grabbed the handle the lights throughout the house flickered, going out completely.

"AHHHHHHHH!" a piercing shriek ripped through darkness before the lights hummed back to life.

"Damn girl, that was my ear, yo." Quil rubbed his ear looking at Alice.

Alice looked at me with wide eyes, "Sorry. I panicked."

"It's all right." came the voice from behind me. "It's an old house and the storm seems to be coming in pretty strong. I wouldn't be surprised if we lost power tonight." Alice let out a little yelp. Edward smiled softly. "It's nothing to worry about. I have alternate sources of power spread throughout the house, including each of your four rooms."

Jake stepped forward. "Four rooms?"

Edward nodded. "Yes. I was told on the phone that you would need four rooms. I have them prepared for you if you would like to see them."

"Actually, we only need-"

"Four rooms are fine." I interrupted Jake.

"Bella-" Jake started.

I turned to him. "The rooms are already prepared, Jake. It would be rude to make Mr. Cullen prepare different ones." I pleaded him with my eyes.

Jake stared intently at me before throwing his arms up in frustration. "Whatever." He spat before addressing Edward. "You do have a phone I could use though? I don't need to call my mother or anything," he threw a look at me, "but I need to call a repair shop or something so that we can fix my car and get the hell out of here."

My mouth dropped open. I couldn't help it. Jake was being unbelievably rude.

"Of course I have a phone. How else would I have heard about your arrival? I did say that I received a phone call, didn't I?" Edward replied, a slight bite in his words. "Would you like to use it now or after I show you to your separate rooms?"

Jake took a step forward at the same time as Edward. This can't be good. I stepped forward placing my tiny 5'4 frame directly between the two of them. The tension was rolling off both of the guys in waves. I put a hand on Jake's chest, lightly pushing into him.

"Let's get to our rooms and then we can figure out who to call, okay?" I said soothingly, trying to get Jake to relax.

"Yeah, man. And some of us still need to eat." Quil whined from his corner.

Jake looked back at Quil briefly. "Fine." He finally relented. "Let's get the rooms in order." He turned back to Edward. "After you, _sir_" he sneered.

Edward griped the suitcase he was holding tighter and walked towards the staircase. He stopped on the first step and turned back to us. "Follow me please." and he continued his ascent not staying to see who would follow.

One by one we trekked up the staircase. Quil, Alice, Jake and lastly, me. We walked in silence, complete silence. There were no sounds from anywhere in the house, not even the driving rain outside, just our footsteps echoing off the walls. I couldn't see anything in front of me, only Jake's back. The closer we got to the next landing the darker it got. I looked behind me and watched the light from the parlor fade until it was just a glowing ember. Something about that made me feel uneasy and I hurried to follow Jake, terrified that I would look up and he would be gone. We reached the second floor and turned left. I noticed that the staircase narrowed as it continued up to a third floor.

Edward paused, "The third floor is off limits. I would greatly appreciate if you would kindly refrain from wandering up there."

Quil put his hand on the rail, craning his neck to look up. "Sweet. A forbidden floor. Kinda like Harry Potter." He nudged Jake's shoulder and said in a high pitched British accent, "We're not supposed to be here. This is the third floor, it's forbidden."

We all just stared at him, even Edward.

"What's with the accent?" Alice asked.

Quil looked at us in mock horror, "It's Hermoine." He stated matter-of-factly. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone? Nothing?"

I bit my lower lip trying not to laugh. Alice let out a giggle as she walked past him. Jake shook his head in annoyance and followed Alice. Edward was just looking at Quil like he was a puzzle to solve.

_Good luck with that_, I thought.

"Bella, I know you know what I'm talking about. You were right there with me at the midnight show." Quil threw his arm around me.

"I got your back, boo." I patted his hand and we followed the group down the hall.

The hallway was narrow and lit only by the flames coming from the sconces that adorned the walls. The flicker of the flames elongated our shadows making them seem inhuman as we walked. There were little end tables that sat underneath a handful of the lights. The walls were the same dark paneling of wood that the downstairs held, but seemed almost black up here. There was a dark red carpeted floor runner that ran the length of the hallway so our footsteps were muted.

We came to a stop about halfway down the hall, there was a door on each side of us. Edward opened both doors and made a sweeping motion with his hands.

"Gentlemen, your rooms."

Quil ran into the one on the right. "Sweet!" we heard him exclaim.

Jake walked to the door on the left, pausing before walking in. "Where are the girls staying?"

Edward gestured further down the hall. "There are four more rooms on this side of the hall. The two on the right are prepared for the ladies."

Jake glanced down the hall then at me and Alice. He dropped two of Alice's suitcases in front of her and walked into his room shutting the door behind him. I put my hand on the doorknob not knowing if I should go after him or not.

"At least you're holding my luggage and not his, huh?" I heard Alice ask Edward behind me. "Come on, Bella. Let's go see our fabulous rooms." I turned around to see her lifting up one of her bags. I grabbed the other one and smiled at her.

"Let's go." I agreed. I looked up at Edward who was staring back at me. He nodded once then turned and led the way down the hall. We stopped at the next door as Edward opened it up.

"Alice."

Alice smiled at me before bounding into her room. Edward and I followed with her bags. The room was painted a soft yellow with brown undertones. There was a lamp on the stand next to the bed that lit up the room. Alice was sitting on the bed that was placed in the middle of the right wall. The bedspread was a yellow that matched the walls and had intricate brown designs swirling through it. The browns in the bedding really picked up the brown hues in the paint. Across from the bed against the far wall was a white vanity with a mirror attached and a matching wardrobe sat next to it. I knew Alice would love it.

"I love it!" Alice exclaimed. I laughed. I noticed that Edward glanced over at me when I laughed, that crooked smile on his lips. Alice ran over to the wardrobe and started to hang her clothes up.

"The door over there leads to a bathroom. You have your own." Alice squealed. "And the lamp is kerosene so if the power goes out you won't lose light in here." Edward explained. He turned to me. "Shall we go to your room?" he asked in a low voice, his green eyes burning with intensity.

My stomach clenched as I felt my body react in a way I never expected, never felt, not even with Jake. My thoughts ran wild with images of what that question could entail. What I wanted it to entail. Me running my hands through that tussled bronze hair. My hands unbuttoning that dark blue shirt that he wore so I could see more of what was underneath than what the two undone buttons at the top allowed. His hands running down, down until-

"Bella, why are blushing?" Alice's voice disrupted my fantasies.

"I-I-I-" I stammered. I avoided looking at Edward and focused on Alice who was standing with her hands on her hips, a knowing look on her face. I stuck my tongue out at her. Her grin widened as I realized Edward was watching me which of course made my blush turn scarlet. I could literally feel my face burning.

"Your room?" he asked again, this time there was an amused lithe to his voice.

I nodded and walked out to the hall trying to slow my breathing before he walked out. I heard him talking to Alice and then suddenly he was beside me.

"This way. It's the last door here on the right." He started walking down the hall. I quickened my pace to catch up to him, but in my haste I didn't pay attention to where I was going and my knee smacked into one of the tables against the wall.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed. I bent down to assess the damage but stopped when Edward was suddenly there on his knees in front of me, his face full of concern.

"Are you ok?" he asked as his hand tentatively reached out and rested on my knee. Between the gentleness of his caress and the care in his voice, I was overwhelmed with emotion. Jake was so used to me falling or getting hurt that he didn't even bat an eye anymore. I didn't trust myself to speak. I felt my head nod up and down like a marionette doll. He lifted the hand that was on my knee and came to stand in front of me. Our faces were once again inches apart and my heart was racing. Very carefully he lifted his right hand and lightly touched my temple. So slow that it was almost painful, his fingertips traced a line from my temple to my jaw. My skin felt on fire and this time it wasn't from my blush.

"Please be careful." He whispered. He took a step back and I immediately felt empty from the loss of contact. I watched as he picked up my fallen suitcase and then waited for me to collect myself before continuing our walk. He walked more slowly this time, matching his steps with mine. Every once in awhile he would glance down at me, very quickly, so that if I hadn't been watching him I would never have noticed. Neither of us spoke as we made our way to that last door.

He stopped with is hand on the doorknob and looked over at me. "I hope you like it." was all he said before opening the door and stepping aside. I walked in and gasped.

The room was at least twice as big as Alice's, if not more. Whereas the rest of the house was dark and felt isolated, this room was light and just plain beautiful. The walls were done in a light pink, not the kind to make you gag but a subtle pink that made you feel pretty. The ceiling was a cream white with a fan centered above the queen sized bed. There were four long windows on the wall behind the bed, each framed in the same dark wood paneling. The shutters were pulled down so that only half of the window was exposed, the bottom half of the shutters were covered with a white lace drape that hung almost to the floor. On each side of the bed was what I assumed were the same tables in the hall though here they were covered with the same lace drapes as the window and a pink antique lamp sat on each one. I could see that those lamps were also kerosene. My favorite part of the room was the wall facing me, opposite the door. There was an arch built into the wall. In each corner of the arch sat a window with a wall down the middle separating the two. A desk was positioned in front of the window on the right and a cushioned chair on the left. But what caught my attention was the white lace wedding dress that was displayed between the two windows. It was so delicate looking; I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

"Um…the lights are also kerosene so you won't be left in the dark. This entire floor is actually." Edward explained, breaking my reverie. "There's a closet in that corner." He pointed to a door back in the right corner. "And you also have your own bathroom." He pointed to a door on the left.

I couldn't say anything. I just gaped.

His eyebrows furrowed as he shifted uncomfortably. "If you don't like it there are other rooms available."

"No. It's…" I searched for the words. "perfect."

His face broke out into a smile, light dancing in his eyes. "Good." He said softly.

"Uh…what's with the dress?" I asked, motioning towards the wedding dress.

Edward walked over to it, setting my suitcase at the foot of the bed. "To be honest, I don't really know. It's been here for as long as I can remember. My mother never had the heart to get rid of it." His fingers traced the material. "I keep it here cause it seems to fit this room, almost like it belongs in here, like it came from here." He looked at me then. "Does that sound strange?"

I shook my head, "No. I was thinking the same thing when I saw it."

He smiled again, but the light in his eyes was gone replaced by sadness. "Well, I'll let you get settled." He made his way back to the door not looking at me.

_Say something, Bella._

"Thank you!" I shouted out, grimacing at how loud it was.

He turned back to me. "Your welcome." He said gently. "I'll be downstairs in the kitchen preparing those pancakes for your friend if you need me."

I rolled my eyes, "You don't have to do that. He's a baby, but he'll survive."

Edward chuckled, "It's really not a problem." And with that he walked out.

I sat on the bed gazing around the room as I thought about this night's crazy events. Everything from Jake getting lost to finding that one lone store that ultimately led us here all seemed surreal. I plopped on my back and stared at the ceiling, my fingers playing with the white comforter. I couldn't help my thoughts as they turned to Edward. There was something about him that captivated me. I had never felt so completely drawn to someone before, not like this. God Bella, he's the first guy outside of Jake that you found attractive, get over it. And Jake…what was I going to do with him? Without any clue to an answer, I pushed myself up and made my way to the bathroom.

**EPOV**

I knew she would like the room. I hadn't initially intended to put her there and was actually rethinking my decision until I saw her standing in there. So innocent and pure, just like the room itself. She just seemed to fit. I knew she was different the moment I saw her standing outside. I was instantly mesmerized by the depth in her chocolate eyes, the full pout of her lips, her pale skin glimmering in the moonlight, and that blush. She was perfect. Damn it!

I leaned against the sink closing my eyes and thought back to Emmett's call. I told him I was done, that this couldn't go on. I couldn't go on. That's when the yelling started. Emmett went on about how he refused to let me go, that I wasn't the only one dealing with this, that we were all affected. But I was the one living here. I was the one who had to face it every day. I slammed my fist into the counter.

"Damn, G. Did you break your wrist on that?"

I turned sharply and saw the one they call Quil standing in the doorway. I quickly straightened up and plastered a smile on my face.

"Nah, man. Didn't hurt at all. The counter top is pretty soft." I ran my hand over the marble top coming to a stop over the slight dent I made. "Is everything okay with your room?"

He nodded leaning against the center island. "Yeah, man perfect. I just came down for those pancakes you promised." He patted his stomach grinning.

I grinned back, this man's character was contagious. "Perfect timing. I was just about to put them on the table."

"Let me help." He pushed himself off and came to stand next to me. I handed him the plate of pancakes and I picked up the two with eggs and bacon. He followed me into the dining room and we placed the plates on the large table.

Quil let out a breath. "Whoa. This table looks like something out of Dracula. You know, Dracula sits on one end and the fair maiden sits all the way down at the opposite end the only thing between them are candles and food that only the girls eats." He nodded appreciatively. "Nice. I have to say, I like the whole 'horror movie' theme of this place. Gotta make your B & B stand out, right?" he took a seat and started shoveling food onto his plate.

"Should I call the others?" I asked him. I wanted to see Bella again.

"Naw, man." He replied, mouth full of eggs. "I passed Alice in the hall on her way to get Bella. They'll be down in a few. Is there cheese in these eggs?"

I nodded.

A grin broke out on his face, "My fave!"

I was about to ask him to save some for the rest when I heard footsteps on the stairs. I glanced towards the door just as the girls walked in.

"Here you are." The one named Alice exclaimed. "I think I may need a map to navigate my way around here."

She was cut short as the lights shut off with a giant bang.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH" I recognized Alice's scream from earlier. "Bella! Bella! Where are you?"

"I'm right next to you. Ow! That's my foot, Alice!" Bella's soft voice responded.

"Just give me a minute. I'll get us some light." I walked to wall closest to me thankful for my excellent vision in the dark and lit the wall sconce that was there. A small glow was cast as I walked around the room and lit the other three, I also decided to light the candles on the table hoping to calm Alice down. I felt all three pairs of eyes watch me as I made my way around the table. I looked up after lighting the last candle and saw Alice gripping Bella's arm with her tiny hands. Both girls were staring at me, their eyes wide.

"Well," Alice began nervously. "That's not creepy at all." She looked around the room which now had a reddish tint to it thanks to the flames. Her eyes suddenly stopped. "Damn it, Quil! Save some for everyone else." She walked over and smacked him in the back of his head before taking a seat next to him. The sudden outage of power seemed to not phase him as he continued shoveling food into his mouth.

"I'm sorry. Like I said, this place is old." I replied to Alice, though my gaze never left Bella. "And I should have mentioned where everything is."

Bella smiled at me, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. I was starting to love that color. "It's ok." She said softly, walking further into the room. "All we had to do was follow the sounds of that one eating." She pointed at Quil.

"Mfuufmo ahune ncuayb" was Quil's reply. Alice and Bella laughed. The sound warmed my heart. I couldn't remember the last time I heard laughter in the house.

Bella walked up to the table and I instinctively pulled out a chair for her. Her eyes widened in surprise but she didn't say anything. I started to leave when her voice stopped me.

"Aren't you going to join us?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah man. Have a seat." Quil added. "You did make it all."

I hesitated for a moment. I really shouldn't be getting close to them but then I glanced towards Bella. Her brown eyes were searching mine. I watched as she took her bottom lip between her teeth carefully judging my response. Her beauty was captivating in the flickering light. I smiled softly at her and felt my hear soar when I received one in return. She motioned to the chair sitting next to her and gave me another smile. I took a step forward.

"What the fuck is going on here?" a voice boomed from the doorway.

Bella's head snapped around as I followed her gaze. Jake stood in the doorway one hand held a lantern that I knew was from his room, the other was balled into a fist at his side,. He was openly glaring at me, probably thinking he could intimidate me with his size. This child was really starting to irritate me.

"Jake." Bella sounded surprised to see him. "We're just, um, getting something to eat." She looked down at her plate. Her hair falling in a shield around her face.

"Have a seat, dude." Quil said while spraying Alice slightly with eggs.

She shrieked, smacking him on the arm and quickly grabbed a napkin. "Seriously! How old are you? Didn't your mother ever tell you to chew, swallow, then speak?"

Quil got a nasty gleam in his eye and he leaned closer to Alice so that his mouth was next to her ear, "Did you say swallow?"

Alice's cheeks turned puffed out and her face turned bright red. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"Haha, made ya speechless there, didn't I?" Quil chuckled sitting back in his chair. He turned back to Jake who hadn't moved. "Seriously dude, have a seat. These are awesome pancakes and the eggs, they have cheese in 'em. Just like mom makes them." He patted his stomach in appreciation.

"Well, it's nice to see you all have made yourselves so comfortable. While you guys have been down here chumming it up with our new found friend, I have been trying to find a way to get us out of here." He threw a look at me. I stood perfectly still showing that he had no effect on me.

"Yeah?" How's that going?" Quil asked. Alice pursed her lips and I noticed that Bella still hadn't looked up from her plate. I couldn't understand why. What was she ashamed of? Or was she scared? Scared of Jake? I felt my breathing pick up at that thought. I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. I needed to calm down.

"How's it going? Just great, Quil. Thanks for asking. You know what would make it go better?" Quil shook his head not realizing Jake wasn't looking for an answer. "If the fucking phones worked!"

Bella looked up then. "The phones don't work?" she looked at me, worry in her eyes.

"Don't worry. It sometimes happens when there's a storm." I said reassuringly. "They'll come back on when it passes. Until then," I looked back at Jake, "why don't you sit down and have some food?" I tried to put on a smile but I'm sure it looked more like a grimace.

Jake took a breath in. "No thank you, I'm not hungry. I'm going to take a shower and then I guess just go to bed." He looked at Bella then and I didn't miss the look he gave her. With one last glance around he turned on his heels and walked out. No one spoke and the only sound was his retreating footsteps.

Bella cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into him."

I shrugged, "It's ok. You guys have had a long night. He probably just needs some rest."

The light reflected off her eyes then and I saw a glisten of moisture pooling. I felt my anger begin to resurface. How dare he make this beautiful creature cry. In my peripheral I saw Quil reach a hand towards Bella.

"Don't worry, babe. I'll talk to his smart ass." She smiled up at him. "Eat girl! Put some weight on that skinny ass of yours." She let out a laugh and started piling food on her plate.

The conversation between them flowed easily and while they were all distracted I quietly snuck out to give them their space. I busied myself in the kitchen until I heard them leave before going and cleaning up. I was walking back to the stairwell heading up to my room to try and get some sleep when I saw a light coming from the library. Pretty sure that I didn't leave one on I opened the door quietly and was momentarily taken back by what I saw.

Bella stood in front of the window using the moonlight as her main source of light while she thumbed through one my books. She had removed her sweatshirt and tossed in on the armchair leaving her in a plain white long sleeved shirt over what looked like black yoga pants. Her brown hair cascaded down her back in light waves. I had never seen someone look so simple but yet so beautiful. I knocked softly on the door not wanting to frighten her. She still jumped slightly before turning towards me.

"Edward." She breathed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

She closed the book and set it back on the shelf. "No, I mean, it's your place and all." She took a timid step forward. "I didn't know if I was allowed to be in here. I'm sorry if I'm not. I'll just go." She walked across the room and started to move past me when I put my hand out and grabbed her arm. The connection was instantaneous. From the look in her eyes I knew she felt it too. It was like the first time we touched, when her hand brushed mine on her suitcase. However, this time she didn't pull away.

"Don't leave." I all but whispered.

We stood there for what seemed like eternity. Me holding onto her arm, neither of us wanting to break the connection. Finally she blinked, her eyes clearing and she took a step back. I reluctantly let go of her arm, my fingers still tingling from contact.

"Would you like to sit?" I gestured to the antique sofa that sat in front of the fireplace.

She nodded and I followed her over taking the time to notice the way her body moved in front of me. I felt the stirrings low in my body. I pulled my gaze away from her and went over to light a fire. I turned back to her to see her curled up on the corner of the couch with her legs tucked under her. Her hands were in her lap and her hair fell over her shoulders. She looked like an angel. I took a deep breath and sat down next to her. We stared at the fire for awhile, just enjoying the silence. Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I had to know more about her.

"So, what brings you guys out here? I take it you're not from around here."

She pulled at the ends of her sleeves. "No, we're from California, Santa Cruz to be exact." My eyes widened. "We just graduated and Alice got accepted to a summer program in New York, so sort of like a last passage of sorts we decided to drive her out. It was just going to be me, Alice and Jake, but Quil managed to weasel his way in at the last minute."

"He seems like quite the…uh…" I struggled to find words.

She giggled. "I don't think there are words to describe Quil. He's like a walking encyclopedia of randomness."

"Yeah, I noticed with all the pop cultural references he keeps throwing out."

"Yeah, he's a sucker for the pop culture which he tries to hide in his ghetto exterior." She did air quotes around the word ghetto making me laugh.

"So you and Alice have been friends for awhile?"

"Oh yes, since we were like five. She approached me in kindergarten and told me that my overalls were so last season and that my hair was stringy because I wasn't using the proper shampoo for my hair type. We've been best friends ever since." I noticed the love in her voice as she spoke.

"That's nice. To have people in your life who have been there through everything." I noted.

"Yeah, it is." Her gaze turned to the fire. "I don't know what I'm going to do without her though. I'm just hoping our friendship can survive the distance, you know?"

I slowly covered her hand with my own. "I'm sure it will. She seems to love you also."

Bella stared at my hand on hers before speaking. "I know she does. I just can't shake this feeling that somehow I'm going to be left behind. She's going to go off and everyone's going to love her and where does that leave me?"

"I'm sure that won't happen." I gave her hand a small squeeze.

I watched as Bella composed herself and then she asked, "Well, how about you? Any lifelong friends leaving you behind?" she softly joked.

I stiffened. "No, not really. I've never really had friends growing up, just my brother and his best friend who over time became my friend also."

"Do they live around here?"

"Yes, actually you've met them." She looked confused. "At the store, the guy who recommended this place? That's my brother, Emmett."

Recognition dawned in her eyes, "Oh really? He didn't say anything about that. And the guy in the wheelchair?"

"That's Jasper." I removed my hand from hers and clasped it with my other. Jasper. Just the thought of what happened to him. How I should have been able to stop it but didn't. I'll never forget the look on Emmett's face as the light faded from his best friend's eyes. Jasper was lucky, he survived. I know that they've both forgiven me, telling me that it wasn't my fault, that they've never actually blamed me, but how could they not?

"Edward?"

"I'm okay, just thinking."

I shoved the memories back down, locking that door again. Trying to get the conversation back to its lighthearted pace I asked the question I probably didn't want to know the answer to, but found myself curious.

"And Jake? How long have you been with him?"

She bit her lip. "Umm…freshman year."

"Wow, so four years? That's good."

She looked down. "Yeah, I guess." I looked at her, a puzzled expression on my face. "I mean, I don't know. He's not always like this…how he is tonight. Most times he's kind and gentle, but lately…" she trailed off.

"Lately?"

"I don't know. Something in him has changed. I haven't really talked to anyone about this but Alice." She rolled her eyes. "Alice thinks that she can predict the future and according to her, she doesn't see me with Jake. And I know she's pissed because of the whole college thing."

"College thing?"

She ran her hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face. "Yeah, um, Alice and I had this plan since we were kids. We would graduate high school together and go to the same college far away from home and be roommates and all that fun stuff. I would major in English and her in fashion. We both even got into NYU."

"But you're not going?" I hedged.

She shrugged. "I also got accepted to UC Santa Cruz and I decided to go there."

"For Jake?" I asked.

"Pretty much." She admitted. "Jake's going to the local community college in Aptos and… I know that she feels that I picked him over her, which I guess I kind of did. God, I'm a horrible friend!" she buried her face in her hands.

"Bella, don't say that?"

"Why not?" she exclaimed. "It's true. What kind of person throws away a lifelong dream and ditches her best friend for a guy?"

"I'm sure Alice understands." I said, trying to get her to calm down.

"I know she does and I think that makes it worse. In a way I want her to get mad at me, you know?" Boy, did I. "But I know that she never will. She'll support me even if being with Jake ends up being a mistake."

"Do you want to be with Jake?" she didn't answer. "Bella, why are you with him?"

"He was the first boy that I kissed." She said simply.

"That doesn't mean it's meant to be."

She sighed throwing her head back, "I know. God! I just…I don't know." She sat up suddenly. "Enough about Jake. What about you? How did you come to be Bed & Breakfast Master?"

"Master?" I chuckled. "I don't know about that."

"Oh come on, this place is gorgeous." She raved.

I felt my pride soar at that compliment. "Thank you. The house has been in my family for years. I've always had sort of a…uh…connection with it, you know? I couldn't stand for my parents to sell it. So they left it to me and now…voila." I spread my arms wide.

"Well it's really beautiful. I could imagine living in a place like this. In the middle of nowhere, no distractions. It's like out of a medieval novel or something. How old is it?"

"The house was built in 1886."

"Wow." I watched her lips form an 'o'. I licked my lips, the urge to taste her so overwhelming.

She leaned over to me and I saw something slip out of the neck of her shirt. Her mouth moved telling me she was speaking but I couldn't hear. I was transfixed by the charm around her neck.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but notice your necklace. What is is?"

"Oh this?" she picked it up. "My mom gave it to me for graduation. It's some family heirloom or something."

I reached out and delicately lifted it from her chest. That's when I heard it. A ferocious growl from the depths of the house. I froze, waiting for a reaction from Bella, some indication that she too heard the noise, but she didn't move. I could hear it as it struggled to break free of its confines, the scratches as it clawed at the walls. Loud booms filled my ears and I could tell the prison was caving under force. My stomach clenched in pain. I couldn't let it get out. I quickly dropped the necklace and leaned back. I looked up and was instantly drowning in chocolate. The moment I looked into her eyes it let out high pitched mewl as it cowered back into its prison. Then the pounding stopped. I searched the silence for any sign that it had escaped but was met with nothing. Why had it stopped? It was so close to being free. I had to get her out of here. It wasn't safe for her or her friends. They didn't know the evil that was held here.

I reached out for Bella's hand, grabbing it in mine and pulling her to her feet. Her eyes were full of worry and I knew she was scared.

"Edward, what…"

"Bella, I…" I trailed off as I looked at her. Her hand gripped in mine, chest heaving, face slightly flushed.

"Are you okay?" she asked worried.

"Me? I'm fine. Are you?" I searched her face for an answer. She didn't seem afraid anymore. How could that be?

"I'm fine."

"But the noises…"

She gave me a smile. "You said it yourself Edward, this is an old house. It's going to make noise, especially during a storm."

I searched her face again looking for the fear that had been there before, but all I saw was trust. And I knew in that moment that as much as I wanted to save her, I couldn't bring myself to let her go.

She pulled me back down to the sofa, "Now where were we?"

I gave her my best grin as I launched into a million questions. I found myself fascinated at her answers which led to more questions. Suddenly she yawned and I glanced at my watch noticing the time.

"Oh my, its 3am. I've kept you up too long."

She smiled through hazy eyes, "No, it was fun. I don't think that I've ever talked that much to someone I've just met before."

"Me either. Let me walk you to your room."

She nodded and stood up stretching her arms above her head. I noticed the sliver of skin when her shirt rose up. I had to get her to her room. I stood up quickly and led her out of the room and upstairs. We walked in a peaceful silence having just spoken for three hours.

We came to a stop in front of her door. She turned to me, looking up at me through her eyelashes.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in the morning…well, later in the morning."

I smiled. "Get some sleep." Without thinking I reached up and gently pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. I heard her sharp intake of breath. I breathed in and was immediately accosted with her smell. She smelled of freesia and strawberries. I felt like I could breathe her in forever. I've never felt such emotion before. I quickly dropped my hand and took a step back.

"Have a good night, Bella."

"You too, Edward." She walked in and closed the door behind her.

How did this girl have such a strong effect on me? Was Emmett right? Was she the one who could release me from this prison? Sighing I pressed my back up against her door and closed my eyes. I felt myself smile and a surge of hope spread through me.

I've found its weakness.

****


	5. Chapter 5

***A/N: ****This awesome chapter brought to you by me, ohdisco. The last POV written by the talented tellingmelies. Just a warning, things get a tad violent in this one.**

**We of course don't own anything Twilight, and pretty sure Stephanie wouldn't approve of what we're doing to some of them….heehee**

**Reviews are like Edward's cheese eggs.  
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********

**Chapter 5**

**JPOV**

I couldn't believe I had crashed my car. I had built that car all the way from the bottom up, but fucking Alice couldn't stop being such an annoying bitch and I fucking crashed. My. Car. To go with the shitty theme this night has had, we get whisked away to Dracula's lair. Who the fuck would live here? Why would they make such a creepy place into a Bed and Breakfast? He better not expect any payment. Ha, I should be paid to sleep in a horrifying place such as this. Jason and Grant would probably have a field day ghost hunting in this joint.

The place, though, was nothing compared to its owner. _Edward_, I thought. There were so many things wrong with that guy I couldn't even start to mention them. Well, for starters, his name. He couldn't be any more than 5 or 6 years older than us, yet he's got some old fashioned name, like he belongs in the time that this house was first built. Second, where does he get off looking at my girl like that? More importantly, what's it about him that makes Bella look at him in a way she's never looked at me before? Fucking tease. I fathomed when I was younger that I should give her time; she was young and maybe she wasn't ready. She's 18 now, and every other chick is ready to sleep with me, so why not my girlfriend? It's like, come on! Give it up already! Yes, everybody knows you're some goody two shoes prude bitch, but papa wants some lovin'. I paused, and shook my head. Ugh, I gotta stop hanging out with Quil.

Speaking of Quil, I don't know why he's chumming up to _Edward_; anybody can make scrambled cheese eggs. It's like everyone has deserted me, and I'm stuck all alone in this shitty place in the middle of fucking nowhere when I didn't even want to come on this trip. It's not like Alice is my friend. I only put up with her for Bella and now for Quil's unhealthy obsession with her. The only thing that persuaded me to take them across country was the thought of getting Bella alone and making her mine. Now I'm under fucked, without a working car, no way to call for a tow truck, and my girlfriend, best friend, and girlfriend's best friend are becoming great buds with the creepiest owner of a place to stay since Norman Bates.

"Yo, J-dawg, where you at?" Great, Quil, probably coming to tell me how wonderful _Edward_ is.

"What do you want Quil?" I sneered. I wasn't in the mood for small talk; I definitely wasn't in the mood to have Quil preach at me to be nicer in Ebonics.

"I just wanted to see how you were dawg, that's all. I know something is bothering my J-man, and I want him to know that I will always be there for him, no matter what."

"Quil, it's just…Bella." Saying her name out loud surfaced all the anger I had towards her.

Quil looked thoughtful for a moment. "Who do you want to talk to? Jim, Jack, or the Captain?" he asked as he lifted three alcohol bottles out of his backpack.

"God Quil, how much space do you have in there?" I tried to peek inside of his backpack, but he quickly pulled it back to his body.

"I'm like fuckin' Mary Poppins foo'." He cracked a lopsided grin and held up the bottles once again. I hastily grabbed the Jack Daniels out of his hands. "Good choice j-dawg. Now, tell a brotha your probs."

I scratched the back of my head, and then took a swig off the bottle. The liquid quickly coated my throat, burning on the way down. I gave a slight grimace and looked at Quil.

"I just don't know how much longer I can wait man. She doesn't give up anything, and it's driving me insane! I try to put the mood on, but she just makes me feel like a creep for wanting her. Then, of course, the creepiest person I've ever met looks at her and she's pooling in her panties."

"I hear ya brah. Everybody's got 99 probs, but a bitch shouldn't be one. She should be making you feel good instead of steering you towards your good friend Jack. I wouldn't worry about E-bear though, he seems pretty harmless." Quil chugged some of the Captain Morgan and chuckled before continuing, "Though I dunno, Bella was getting all googily eyed for him. I mean, E-Bear owns this fucked up mansion in the middle of nowhere, and you KNOW he gets the pussy because he's mysterious and domineering and shit. Maybe she likes that in a boo."

I took another long swig of my drink, my vision already starting to blur a little bit. Drinking on an empty stomach, probably not my best decision. "He's such a fucking creeper though. I ought to show him a lesson for lookin' at my girl like that."

Quil leaned against the railing we were next to and looked at me disapprovingly. "Dude, let it go. He's not going to go after your boo." Not wanting to listen to him anymore, I took my bottle and started stumbling down the hallways.

Maybe I was going crazy? Was it too much to expect sex from Bella? Maybe I was being too harsh. We'd been going through a lot lately, due to parental stress on Bella's part for choosing UCSC over NYU. Her mom and dad had been so proud of her getting accepted there, but Bella had chosen to stay with _me_ in Santa Cruz. I don't know why I'm so worried about sleeping with her; it's not I needed to claim her as mine, she didn't want anyone else. Just as I was thinking that, I passed by my door and continued down the hall towards the girls. Not sure as to which one was which I came to a stop at the first door. Putting my ear up against the door I heard a faint voice singing "Goodbye" by Kristinia DeBarge and the sound of a shower running was coming out of the room. Alice. I heard light murmurs coming from down the hall, weirdly sounding like a man was with Bella. Thinking it was Quil, I started walking quickly to the room that was hers.

"Get some sleep" I heard Edward tell Bella. Intrigued, I poked my head around the large doorframe to see his hand delicately tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. She lightly blushed, but a twinge of lust swam in her eyes. Disgusted by her betrayal, I almost walked into the room and ended their little charade. I decided that rather make her hate me, maybe I'd just use guilt to get what I want. I quickly made myself hidden while Edward wished her a good night and closed the door. The fucker had the audacity to smile and lean against her door, like she would succumb to his stupid charm and leave me. He was acting as if he was victorious when in fact the battle had just begun. He took one last glance at her closed door and started turning towards me. Not wanting to have a confrontation with him yet, I quietly snuck into one of the other rooms. I peeked through the crack to see him walk past and disappear down the hall. I needed to talk to Bella. I quickly slipped into Bella's room as she was walking back to her bed from getting a glass of water from the bathroom.

"Jake, what are you doing in here?" Her eyes still held remnants of the lustful glance, but I knew it was from nothing I'd done.

I gritted my teeth as I tried to keep my composure. "Bella, it's more like, what were you just doing in here? With Edward?"

Her eyes went wide as she took a step back from me. She opened her mouth, but failed to produce sound. It took her close to a minute to actually spit words out to me. "Jake, i-it was nothing. I was in his library, we got to talking, and he walked me back to my room so I wouldn't get lost."

My composure started to slip as she was giving me lame excuses, "At 3 in the morning?!"

"Jake, calm down. I'm sorry. It was stupid, I know. What can I do?" Her pleading eyes tried to shine innocence, but I knew otherwise. Anger at her, at the situation, at her being such a fucking tease, and at everyone else getting laid took over me as I closed the few feet in between us and crashed my lips onto hers. Stunned by the sudden move, she was frozen in place for a second, but quickly caught on to what I wanted. Unfortunately for her, I didn't just want to make out. I started to push her down onto the bed, getting some resistance from her.

"Bella, don't you want to make me happy?" Her eyes searched mine, and she gave a weak nod in my direction. Taking that as an ok, I started to aggressively grind my cock into her. I slightly heard her whimpering, but the need I felt towards her took over. I wanted her. I wanted this. Couldn't she see how much I loved her? I had to show her how much I loved her. I had to drive all thoughts of Edward from her mind. _Edward_. I growled, anger firing back up. I started to rip off her shirt, causing her to let out a gasp. I paused briefly, trying to clear the haze in my head but then she started moving. Oh God, the movements. She was driving me crazy. She wanted this too. I started kissing every inch of skin I could reach. I felt her hands pulling at my hair. My mind was a mess of confusing signals. She was thrashing her head about, sobbing at me to stop, but I knew I couldn't. Not when I was this close. So close. I deserved this. She deserved this.

**BPOV**

I was starting to see red as I savagely screamed for help. His hands roughly roamed my now unclothed torso, kneading painfully at my breasts. Tears, cascading down my face, blurred my vision. Every breath I took hurt and it seemed as if time was going in slow motion.

As I started to realize again what was happening, my pants were strewn on the floor, and my panties in shreds next to the bed. Suddenly, I went into survival mode and thought of a way to escape this relatively unscathed. My hand released his hair and began blindly searching for something, anything, to help me. I felt him grab my arm and pinned it down above me. When he shifted his weight one of my legs sprung free. I gathered all my strength and shoved my knee upward. I knew it made contact when he screamed "BITCH!". He crumpled in pain on top of me, breathing labored. Very slowly he lifted his head and looked at me. His eyes full of outrage. He came at me again. I struggled to reach my bedside table which held my glass. In the second he was busy taking off his own pants, I quickly reached over to the table and smashed the glass as I hard as I could over his head. Rolling off of me and onto the floor, he let out a moan and then fell silent as I ran at full speed to Alice's room. I burst in, hearing the shower running and her soft melody being carried throughout the room. I quickly locked the door, and fell to the floor, sobbing. Instantly I heard the shower turn off and soft feet pattering towards me.

"Bella? Oh my fucking god, what happened? Oh my god let me get my other robe." I heard her running to the armoire in her room, and a soft, gentle fabric brushing over my back. Wrapping me in her spare robe, she assisted me to the bed and demanded I tell her what happened. As I told her what Jacob had done, a small tear slid out down her cheek.

**EPOV**

With Bella's sweet fragrance swirling around in my head, I started towards my room. As I got closer to the staircase, a faint voice singing was echoing down the hall. I started to walk a little quicker, recognizing the voice belonging to Quil, and hearing the obvious slur in his voice. _Don't go up the stairs!_ I frantically screamed in my head. At this point I was running, gaining view of the staircase and Quil's drunken attempt to climb the stairs. His head was adorned with a very impressive looking pirate hat that I can assume he found here and his arms were flailing about, making me notice the Captain Morgan bottle in his hand.

"Yo ho, Yo ho! A pirate's life for me!" He shouted slipping on the stair he was on. I rushed to guide him down the stairs, but he only grabbed my hand and tried to dance with me.

"Dead men tell nooooo tales Edward! I am alive though, and I will tell you a tale. A tale of the high seas! A pirate's life for me!" He started singing again, still holding my hand. He slowly started following me down the stairs, shouting about being a pirate all the way.

"Let's get you to your room Quil, you need some rest." I quickly grabbed the bottle from him and put it on a table in the hallway, "You definitely don't need any more rum."

"WHERE'S THE RUM?! I'M A PIRATE!" He started screeching, twisting around in my hands looking for the disregarded bottle. I tightened my hold not wanting to bruise him. I finally got him into his room and I led him to his bed. He plopped down making the coils protest to the sudden weight. This pirate hat fell and was now covering the front of his face. He was quiet for a minute and I thought he had fallen asleep. I pulled my hand back when his suddenly grabbed mine.

"You know Edward, I've been in love with Alice for so long I can't even begin to think how long." His voice came from beneath the hat and I saw a slip in the always upbeat, jokester façade he had. "She always rejects me though man. She always thinks I'm not smart enough, or cute enough, or ethical enough." With his other had he threw the pirate hat in the corner and pulled me closer. "I need you to help me man. I need you to help me be a better man. You just seem so cool and calm. You have confidence and I have shit."

_How far off you are boy__,_ I thought in my head. Quil looked up at me with sad eyes, pleading for answers to help him win the heart of Alice, a girl I'd only met a few hours ago.

Sighing, I sat on the corner of the bed. This was going to be a _long_ night.

**JPOV**

I came to and realized I was on the floor of Bella's room. _What happened? _I looked around and saw the broken glass. It all came back to me.

I can't believe I did that. Disgust with myself rolled throughout my body, causing me to dry heave. The look of terror on Bella's face as I- I couldn't even think it to myself. It wasn't how it was supposed to happen. She was supposed to _want_ to be with me, I wasn't supposed to force her to have me. It had felt like I wasn't even in control. The anger inside of me boiled to the surface and took the driver's seat. My sanity flew out the window the moment she had nodded that she wanted to make me happy.

I didn't deserve her. I hope she breaks up with me; she deserves to be with someone who won't ever hurt her or cause her pain. What she had done doesn't even compare to what I've done. She _talked_ to a boy, and I try to force sex on her. My nausea was at an all time high, due to my drunken state and my emotional turmoil. I sat down for a second on a bench, looking around the large hallway I was in. I noticed the stairs to the third floor at the end of the hallway, and slowly got up from the seat. Unbelievably, they seemed to be bigger and more mysterious the closer I got to them. Intrigue and hatred started boiling in my blood, causing a whole new slew of accusations to cloud my judgment.

If Edward hadn't have touched Bella, I wouldn't have done what I did. If his smug face hadn't been overjoyed with the fact that he was ripping apart a four-year relationship, I might have just wandered to bed. If that stupid clerk at the convenience store hadn't suggested this place, none of this would've happened, and we'd be nearing the New York border by now. Tomorrow we'd be helping Alice set up her new apartment, Bella smiling next to me. Now, I was miserable, Bella hated me, and we definitely weren't going to get out of here for a while. I felt like I had just been sucked into the worst hell possible, not that I didn't deserve it.

Looking at the staircase, I placed my foot firmly on the first step. Slowly I made my way up the staircase, having a couple moments of difficulty because of the alcohol.

"Fucking forbidden my ass" I muttered, making my way to the top of the stairs.

**U****NKNOWN POV**

I was free. The walls he tries so hard to keep intact were in shambles at my feet. This is not the first time I have broken free, nor will it be the last. He tries to keep me locked up, but he should know by now that his makeshift cage can't hold me. He can't hold me. I am in control, not the other way around. It's time he realizes this. I will make him pay.

It's almost amusing watching him struggle, to watch the hope die in his eyes every time. Unlike me, he's filled with human emotion. Pain, loss, and hurt are the ones most expressed. Oh, and guilt. Guilt he feels from the knowing that he had the power to save them all, but in the end he could do nothing. Nothing while they succumbed to me. The guilt is almost unbearable at times, but I get a cruel sense of pleasure seeing him bow to the pain. I grinned knowing it would look more like a sneer to the casual eye.

I could feel him slipping. There was a presence in the house that wasn't here before. Unknown visitors. I didn't like it. One of them was especially unnerving and therefore needed to be removed. I could tell that he wouldn't have the strength to do it. Once again it would be left up to me. Nothing was going to stand in my way, not when I was this close to taking control.

I heard a noise to my left, approaching footsteps. Who dares come up here? Did he not tell them? No, I shook my head, he wouldn't be that stupid. Hmm…someone was disobedient. My eyes narrowed. They needed to be punished. The footsteps were getting closer now, they were almost upon me. Slowly, I sank back into the darkness, aligning myself with the wall. I trained my eyes on the hallway. I didn't need light, I could see every outline perfectly.

A figure was making its way slowly towards me. It was a man and he was walking with a slight sway. His right hand was casually brushing the wall along the way, my wall. Who does he think he is? This is _my _space. No one is allowed up here, NO ONE. I caught the scent of whiskey; it was so strong, coming off him in waves. The scent burned my nostrils and I was instantly hit. Hunger. Hunger so strong. My stomach clenched in need. My hands gripped the walls and I felt them making slight indentations in the wood. My chest heaved from my frantic breathing. He was so close, almost within reach. I would show him. I would teach him to respect other people's boundaries. Quietly I gripped a piece of the paneling and ripped. A chunk of wood came apart in my hands, splinters falling to the ground. I saw him pause momentarily and look around.

_Keep coming._ I thought as he took another step. _Just one more step._

His eyes passed over where I stood but I knew that he did not see me. He wouldn't see me until I wanted him too. I waited until he stepped past me to bring the piece of wood over my head. I let it fall swiftly and it landed with a resounding _CRACK_ against his skull. He instantly crumpled with a groan. I dropped the wood and walked around so that I stood at his shoulders. I gripped one arm and flipped him over. He weighed nothing to me. I watched as his chest rose slowly. He was still alive. Good. His head fell to the side as he let out another groan, long black hair framed his face and that's when I saw it. Blood. Blood was dripping from a gash on his forehead.

Blood.

Red.

A vibrant shade of red.

It was too much, too soon. Red filled my vision and soon it was everywhere I saw. I let out a roar as I let the rage consume me. I welcomed it with open arms. It had been too long. The walls shook and I felt the power.

I grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hall. We would finish this elsewhere and I would take my time. I could hear him moaning as we made our way to the room. Knowing that those moans would soon turn to screams and those screams would only fuel the fire within, I felt my lips pull back into a snarl as I slammed to door behind us. Let the fun begin.

********

**A/N: Uh-oh, what's going to happen to poor Jake?**

**Thank you to all who have reviewed or PM'ed us. We really appreciate hearing what you guys think. So please, do tell us more!!! Haha…until next time..dum dum dummmmm…..**


	6. Chapter 6

***A/N: written by the amazing tellingmelies. We don't own anything but our hearts and our minds.***

**Chapter 6**

**BPOV**

I awoke to the sound of a rooster crowing. _A Rooster? We don't have a rooster._ I slowly opened my eyes, squinting at the incoming sunlight. My eyes fell upon the yellow wall. _Where am I?_ Some thing moved behind me and I froze. Very quietly I rolled over onto my back and stared at the lump next to me. I slowly drew back the comforter and found Alice curled up into a ball, her head tucked into her chest. I smiled at my best friend then felt that smile slip as last nights events came crashing down on me.

Ripping. Breaking. Pushing. Forcing.

Jake.

I bolted upright, eyes frantically searching the room. He wasn't here. He didn't come after me. I looked at the clock that was on the nightstand. 8:27. Oh God, I don't think I fell asleep until after 5. I plopped back down on the pillows; curling to my side desperately hoping sleep would find me again. I laid there for awhile, my eyes squeezed tight, but it never came. I opened my eyes and glanced at the clock. 8:48. Today was not going to be a good day.

With a groan I climbed out of the bed stretching my arms above my head. I felt a slight draft and looked down. I realized I had fallen asleep in the robe that Alice gave me and sometime during the night the ties must have come undone. I gripped the sides and pulled the together tying them while making my way to the bathroom. I closed the door and leaned against the counter. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and cringed. Falling asleep while crying is not a good look. My eyes were red and puffy, my cheeks were streaked with tear stains and clumps of my hair were stuck to them, the rest was sticking out at odd angles. I lifted one hand up to try to smooth it down and that's when I saw it. There was a sprinkling of purplish bruises around my wrist. I looked at my other wrist and found the same purple like a stain against my pale skin. I dropped my arms to my side and stared at my reflection. My shell looked back out at me. I decided to take a shower to make me feel slightly more human.

I went through the motions of starting the shower, undressing, and stepping in. Once the water hit me I felt the weight of everything that happened the night before. I leaned my forehead against the cool tile and let the water fall around me. I didn't even realize that I had begun crying again, the tears mixing with the water as it ran down my face.

I still couldn't wrap my mind around what had happened. Jake had tried to force himself on me. I choked out a sob at the memory. I had never seen him like that. I never thought that Jake would willingly hurt me, yet last night, I couldn't even find him when I looked in his eyes. I shivered even though the water was near scalding. Thank God for Alice. I don't know what I would have done if she weren't here. She listened patiently without interrupting while I told her what happened. I knew she was trying not to jump up and 'kick his brown sugared ass back to Santa Cruz" as she so delicately put it. The whole time I was talking to her I couldn't help the part of me that thought that I wouldn't have been put in this position had we not been here. I had told Alice this but she was quick to tell me that it didn't matter the circumstances, he had no right. I knew she was right. I really did. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. I grabbed Alice's body wash and started scrubbing at my skin, at anything I could reach. I scrubbed until my skin was red then threw the loofah down. I watched the water swirl down the drain, taking last night's memories with it.

I would talk to Jake today. I would tell him that it was over. I froze; was I really just thinking that? _Yes_. Did I mean it? I thought back over our relationship. I had thought it was perfect. I loved him and he loved me. What more did I need? Apparently more. I realized last night that I was with Jake more out of comfort than anything else. He was familiar to me, comfortable. What frightened me the most was that I realized this while talking to Edward.

_Edward._

I had never felt more drawn to a person than I did to him. I couldn't even explain it. Everything about me craved him, from my mind to my body and I just met him. I've never felt this strongly about Jake.

Jake, who had been jealous of Edward.

Jake, who came to my room drunk last night.

Jake, who had been thinking more with his lower half than his brain lately.

Jake, who unknowingly had ended our four year relationship last night.

I shut off the shower and stepped out. As I dried off I realized that all my clothes were in my room. Sighing, I slipped Alice's robe back on and walked back into the room. Alice was still a lump on the bed having buried herself under the blankets again. I tiptoed out even though I was pretty sure she could sleep through an earthquake right now. I paused outside my door wondering if Jake was still inside. I couldn't imagine him staying in there, but then again I didn't know how hard I had hit him. Was he still unconscious? What if he's waiting in there for me? What if he's mad? All these scenarios flashed through my mind. _Suck it up, Bella. You can do this. Just open the door. _

I took a deep breath and swung the door open. It came to a stop with a bang against the wall. Empty. There was no one in the room. I looked over at the bed. The blankets were strewn all over and glass still littered the floor but everything else was untouched. I pushed back the images that were threatening to overtake my vision and made my way to the wardrobe in the corner careful to avoid the glass. I grabbed a pair of jeans, a dark blue t-shirt, a new pair of underwear, and a bra. I quickly threw the clothes on and walked into my bathroom to finish getting ready. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and then threw my hair into a ponytail. I chanced a look in the mirror. My eyes weren't as puffy but my face still had some redness. Not a vast improvement but it would do.

I made my out of the room and back down the hallway. Both Alice's and Quil's doors were closed but I noticed that Jake's was wide open. I paused, not wanting to cross it in anticipation of seeing him. I knew I needed to talk to him, but I didn't know if now was the time. I sucked in a deep breath and all but took a running leap past the door. I didn't look back as I made my way down the stairs. As I walked past the library I couldn't help but smile as I remembered last night with Edward.

_Edward._

I still couldn't believe how comfortable he made me feel. I felt more comfortable with him after one night than with Jake after four years. That should have told me something. I pushed open the door to the kitchen and froze. Edward was coming in from the back door with a basket in his hand, his hair glistening with dew, the copper shining in the morning light. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw me.

"Bella." He said in that velvet voice. "I didn't think anyone would be up this early."

I shrugged one shoulder, "What about you? Did you get any sleep?"

"I don't sleep, at all." He said seriously, his eyes staring into mine. I gulped. Then his face softened. "I'm just kidding. I do sleep, just not much. And especially when I have guests."

I just nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

He walked to the island in the center of the kitchen and set the basket down. I craned my neck trying to get a better view. He caught me trying to look and that sexy smirk played on his mouth. He tilted the basket towards me.

"They're eggs from my chicken coop out back." He nodded towards the back door. "I thought about making omelets once everyone was up, if you'd like."

"That sounds nice." I smiled. "And that explains the rooster I heard this morning."

"Laurent?" he asked, then smiled as I looked at him confused. "He's the rooster." He explained.

"You named the rooster, Laurent?" He nodded. "Why?"

"Why not?" he countered. Good point. "Do you want to see him?" He asked suddenly sounding a little unsure.

"Umm…sure."

His eyes lit up and he walked over to the back door pulling it open then looked back at me. I took a deep breath and walked past him out to into the crisp air. The sun was already up and a slight breeze was blowing through the trees. Edward slid past me and my skin tingled where his arm brushed mine. He walked down the steps, pausing at the bottom.

"This way."

I met him at the bottom of the steps and followed him as he led me deeper into the backyard. We didn't speak but I found that silence with him wasn't awkward; it didn't need to be filled with mindless chatter. I took the time instead to look around the yard. It was huge, nothing like the backyards in California where you barely had room for your dog. We followed a path through some trees where it suddenly opened into a meadow. I gasped. It was beautiful, shaped in a perfect circle lined with trees so it just let in the right amount of light. Off to the right and back a few paces, nestled in between another circle of trees, was the chicken coop. I turned to see Edward staring at me as if waiting for my reaction.

"It's beautiful." I whispered.

He looked around before looking back at me. "It's one of my favorite places out here. Even with the chickens." He added.

"They don't make a lot of noise?"

"Not really." He answered starting to walk towards the coop. "Only in the morning when Laurent sends his call to the world." He paused, looking back. "Was that what woke you?"

I shrugged. "Not really sure. I mean, I heard him when I woke up, but I don't really know if he was the cause. I didn't sleep well last night to begin with."

"Was it the room? The house?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"No, no, nothing like that." I quickly reassured him. "The room is perfect." _Just not what happened in it._ I shuddered at the memory, crossing my arms across my body.

He stepped towards me, "Are you all right? You look a little pale." He reached out as if to touch my arm, but stopped right above me and quickly pulled it back.

"It's nothing." I lied looking down, not wanting to drag him into this mess. "Jake and I just kind of…um…got into a fight last night."

"Did he hurt you?" Edward asked, his voice gruff. I looked up and his green eyes blazed back at me.

My eyes widened at his close proximity and the harsh expression that now lined his features. "No, no…nothing like that…" I stammered searching for something to say. The intensity in his eyes was frightening. I took as step back. "I….he…"

"Bella? Edward?"

I spun around quickly catching my toe in root and felt myself falling. I closed my eyes, bracing for the fall when two arms grabbed me around my waist. I opened my eyes and found myself drawn against Edwards chest, my back to him, his arms around me.

"What did I say about being careful?" he whispered in my ear, his warm breath sending goose bumps down my body.

"Sorry." I swallowed, embarrassed by how loud it sounded. I could feel my cheeks getting warm and I knew I was blushing.

"It's Bella, it just comes naturally." I heard Alice say.

I felt my cheeks burn as I glared at her. She returned my glare with a sad smile. Her eyes silently questioning if I was ok. My eyes softened as I gave her a small nod. I watched her walk towards us, she was still dressed in her pajamas but had thrown on her UGG boots. Her eyes shifted from me to Edward then back to me rising slightly. I realized that Edward was still holding me. I straightened back up as he loosened his hold. I stepped away from him and his hands slid slowly down the sides of my arms. I wondered if it was my imagination or was he hesitant to let me go? As his hands fell away from my body I was immediately cold, my body missing the warmth that he provided. I wrapped my arms around my body and turned to Alice.

"What are you doing up?" I asked her. Alice rarely stumbled out of bed before noon if she could help it.

"I thought I heard you sneak out this morning after you used my shower. I couldn't fall asleep after that. You weren't in your room. I looked around downstairs and didn't see anybody, then I saw that the back door was slightly open and I figured someone was out here. I followed the trail when I heard your voices and voila! Alice is here! Oohh, are those chickens?" she squealed walking towards the coop.

"Was there something wrong with your shower?" Edward asked.

I opened my mouth to answer when Alice blurted out, "She slept with me. Jake was an ass."

"Alice." I pleaded.

She turned back to me and shrugged, "What? He was. He had no right to-" I was trying to silence her with my eyes, not wanting Edward to know. "-well, you know, confront you like that in your room." She finished. Edward was looking from me to Alice with a look of confusion on his face. His eyes finally came to rest on me.

"Does this have to do with the fight?" he asked. I slowly nodded.

"Fight, my ass." Alice scoffed.

"Alice." I hissed, throwing my arms up in frustration.

A large wrist wrapped carefully around mine as Edward slowly turned the inside to face him. His face hardened and his grip tightened as he stared down at the bruises.

"Did he do this?" he asked through clenched teeth. His voice was low, threatening. "Bella, did he do this?" he asked again more forcefully, looking up. I couldn't hold back the gasp that slipped from my lips. His eyes were no longer the bright green they had been but were darker, murkier. He didn't seem to notice my reaction; instead he lifted on hand and brushed my collarbone, fingers gliding over the chain of my necklace. The moment his fingers came in contact with the metal he let out a low growl and then he was gone. He moved so quickly that I fell forward from the loss of his weight. Alice was suddenly by my side.

"What the hell?" she shouted, helping me to my feet.

I pushed Alice away and turned towards the house. "He's going after Jake." I began making my way through the trees.

Alice ran up next to me. "Good. Someone needs to knock some sense into him."

"Alice, I don't want this." I exclaimed. "I just want to forget about it."

"Forget about it? Bella! You can't just forget about it." We were both running now. I could see the house and noticed the back door was thrown open. I ignored Alice and ran up the steps and through the kitchen. I made my way to Jake's room with Alice on my heels but when we got there the room was empty. We looked at each other confused. My eyes widened.

"My room."

I followed Alice down the hall to where my door stood open. We both came to stop at the doorway. Edward was standing in the center of the room, his back to us. I could see the muscles in his shoulders tighten with each breath he took. His arms hung loosely at his side, hands clenched into fists. His head was hung down staring at the broken glass at his feet.

I held my breath as he slowly turned around. His lifted his head and met my gaze. His eyes were a burning onyx.

"Where is he?" he asked, his voice trembling as if he had no control. It made the little hairs on the back of my neck rise.

I took a deep breath, "I don't know." I answered quietly. He looked back down at the glass and a tremor ran through his body. "I'm sorry about the glass. I'll clean it up."

He didn't answer, he just knelt down on one knee among the shards. I watched as his eyes raked over the mess almost frantically as if searching for something. He looked from the right to the left then suddenly his head snapped back to the right.

"Blood." He whispered.

Alice sucked in a breath. "Bella?" she asked in a small voice.

I shook my head, "It's not mine." I assured her. "It must be Jake's, from when I…um…" I bit my lip not wanting to remember. Alice ran her hand up my arm soothingly. I turned back to Edward. He was staring at the ground in front of him, his fingers hovering over a shard. His face was set in concentration as if he was struggling with his thoughts. One must have won out because he carefully picked the piece up and laid it on his palm delicately running his pointer finger over it. His eyes widened and he dropped the shard almost as if it burned him. He dropped to both knees and curled over, holding his head in his hands. His shoulders were heaving with the frantic breaths that raked through his body. Then as quickly as it began he was still.

I took a small step towards him. "Edward?"

He held up his right hand, "Just give me a minute, Bella." His voice was hoarse, laced with pain. I couldn't understand. Did he cut himself? I took another step when Alice grabbed my hand and shook her head. I don't know how long we stood there. Alice holding my hand. Me staring at Edwards crumpled form. Edward with his hand up, head down.

I waited. Waited for a sign that he was ok, anything. I didn't know why he was acting like this and it was starting to scare me.

"Edward?"

He lowered his hand and pushed himself off the ground so that he was back to standing. He looked around the room running his hand through his hair. He finally looked up and my heart ached. His beautiful face was twisted in some unknown pain. His eyes were back to green but now they glittered with sadness and confusion. I wanted to run to him. Every inch of my skin ached to touch him. To comfort him. And I had no clue as to what was wrong.

His mouth opened and closed a couple times as if he was trying to find the right words to say.

"Bella--I—I can't" and then he was gone, rushing past us in a blur of copper.

I gaped after him.

"What the hell?" Alice asked, stealing the words from my mind. "Ok, that was weird."

My thoughts exactly.

"Yo, where's the fire?"

We both turned to find Quil stumbling down the hall. His eyes were half closed with sleep and his hair was falling out of the ponytail he had it drawn into. He leaned against the doorframe placing a hand above Alice.

"'Sup, shorty."

Alice rolled her eyes, "Quil."

He stretched his arms above his head and I noticed Alice's eyes watched him carefully. This was an interesting development. I shook my head. I would talk to Alice about that when my mind was in a better place.

"Where's Eddie running off to? Dude almost knocked me over. Didn't say anything either. It was almost like he didn't see me."

Alice and I glanced at each other, neither saying anything. We didn't know what to say to even begin to explain what happened.

"Okay." Quil drawled picking up on the silence. "So, where's Jake? Let's get his ass and get this car shit dealt with."

I felt my body tighten when Jake was mentioned. Alice squeezed my hand.

"He's not with you?" she asked.

Quil shook his head, "No, man. I just woke up. Why would he be with me? If he was with any one he'd be up with his lady."

I squared my shoulders and faced Quil. "Let's just find him. We have a lot to figure out." I pushed past him and headed down the hallway.

Behind me I heard Quil exclaim, "What the hell happened here?"

"Shhh…I'll tell you later." Alice answered quietly.

I shut my eyes and continued walking. I made my way back downstairs. I had no idea where Edward went or why. I knew that it shouldn't bother me, but it did. I wanted to know why he just ran out like that. My only thought was that he was squeamish at the sight of blood. I knew that wasn't it, but nothing else made sense. And his eyes. Green then black. Eyes don't change like that. I stopped in the middle of the foyer and looked around. And where the hell was Jake? Part of me didn't want to find him, wanted him gone and left me free here. The other part knew that I had to talk to him, to finish this.

Quil shot past me, "Jake? Yo, dude, where you at?" he ran into the kitchen returning a few seconds later shaking his head. "Not there. You ok, Bella? For reals?" he stopped in front of me, his eyes full of concern.

"I will be." I answered.

He gave me a smile and wiggled his eyebrows, "Good. Cause you know you're the Snoop to my Dre."

I laughed. He winked at me and pulled me under his arm. We walked down a hallway looking in the rooms as we passed. We reached the last door at the end and Quil pulled it open only to reveal a brick wall.

"What the fuck?" he exclaimed.

"Bella? Quil? Where are you guys?" Alice's voice came drifting faintly through the hall, but not from the way we had just come.

"Alice?" I called back. I leaned my ear to the wall when Alice responded.

"Bella? I can barely hear you."

I looked at Quil. "It sounds like she's in here."

"That's a wall, Bella." Quil pointed out.

"No really Quil? Is that what it is?" I asked sarcastically. "I don't know. She sounds like she's behind this wall." I put my hands flat on the wall and leaned in. I heard a click and the wall shifted back and popped open to reveal another hallway. I jumped back.

"This place is like the fucking Mystery House. I mean, come on!" He sounded exasperated.

"Alice?" I called again.

"Bella?"

"It sounds clearer in here." I said to Quil stepping in. I felt the wall looking for a light switch. "Where's the god damn light?"

"Here let's just use this." Quil grabbed one of the lanterns that adjourned the previous hallway. He lit it up and the hallway flashed orange from the flame. We both walked in slowly. "I don't know about this. This never turns out good for the Scoobies."

"Alice, keep talking." I shouted out. "Come on, Shaggy." I threw over my shoulder at Quil.

"Ummm…k….so you need to get your asses out here because I need to talk to you both right now! This isn't funny!" she prattled on but it was doing its job, her voice becoming clearer with each step we took.

The hall became narrower the further walked down, twisting at odd angles, the ceiling sloping in so that it brushed against the top of Quil's head.

"Damn, there's a reason I hate the Mystery House." He mumbled behind me.

"Shhh…Quil. What the-?" we had reached the end of the hallway but the door that we assumed would be at the end wasn't there, there was just a wall.

"What the fuck?" Quil pushed past me and began running his hands up and down the wall looking for some handle.

"Quil? Where are you? You sound like you're right next to me." Alice's voice came clear as day through wall.

"There's gotta be a latch or something here." Quil muttered.

"Maybe if you push on it like I did?" I suggested.

"Bella? What the hell is going on? Where are you guys?" Alice shrieked.

"Alice, quiet!" I watched as Quil leaned in and put pressure on the center on the wall. I heard the same click I heard before and the wall popped out and slid to the right revealing Alice standing in the main foyer.

"Oh My God." She said shocked. Quil and I stepped out and turning around I realized that we were let out underneath the staircase. "How did you get in there?"

"This place is the fucking Mystery House redux." Quil exclaimed. "One minute we were in a hall, the next we're finding doors with walls behind them and then other walls are moving and secret passages are coming out." Quil was babbling. "How the hell are we supposed to find Jake? There's like thirty rooms here and if there's anymore of those secrets…."

"That's what I came to tell you." Alice interrupted. We both looked at her. "I think Jake left."

"What do you mean he left?" Quil asked. I just stared at her silently.

"Well, why you guys were off exploring the halls down here, I looked around upstairs. I went back into his room and that's when I noticed that all of his stuff is gone. Clothes, suitcase, everything." She looked at me, frustration in her eyes.

I shook my head, wrapping my arms around my waist as Quil ran to the front door. "He wouldn't leave. No, not even after---no, he wouldn't do that." I sputtered.

Quil turned and threw open the front door and ran out. "SHIT!" his piercing cry rang through the house as he stormed back in and slammed the door. "The fucking car is gone!"

My head shot up as Quil paced, "No way. He would never—" his voice trailed off. He turned back to us, "Maybe he just went to get it fixed, probably thinking he'd be back before we all woke up. Yeah, I bet that's what he did. Let's just call him." He reached into his pockets. "Shit, I left it in the car last night."

I looked at Alice, "My batteries dead and I don't have my charger, it's plugged into the car." I sighed. I didn't have a cell phone, never really feeling the need to own one. I was literally kicking myself now.

Quil ran into the study that was across the foyer. Alice and I followed him and found him behind a desk, a phone in his hand. He pushed the buttons a couple of times before throwing it back down.

"It's still dead."

We all looked at each other.

"He'll be back." Quil said, reassuring himself more than anything.

Alice looked at me. "What do we do now?"

I shrugged, "We wait and hope he comes back."

"And if he doesn't?" she asked.

"He will." Quil said from the corner.

Alice and I stared at each other both thinking the same thing. He wasn't coming back.

****

**EPOV**

I didn't stop running until I was in my room. It got loose. How could it have gotten loose? I slammed the door shut and leaned against it. My chest hurt and I was gasping as if I couldn't get enough air. I slid down the door with my head in my hands.

What have I done?

********

***Homygod, it's gettin' intense!**

**Here's to hoping that all reviews are like Alice, loving and supportive.***


	7. Chapter 7

***A/N: WARNING, LEMON ALERT! M rated chapter comin' your way! If you need a fake ID to buy cigarettes then you shouldn't be reading this.**

**We don't own twilight, but we like to play with them.***

**CHAPTER 7**

**APOV**

I walked slowly towards the kitchen, not wanting to dwell on the fact that Jacob took the car and probably was never coming to get us. If I dwelled on that fact I'd probably scream. In one weekend he turned into a monster. It was only two-thirty in the afternoon, but the need for some sort of liquid courage was astounding. I started frantically searching Edward's cupboards; invasion of his privacy was the least of my worries at the moment. I finally found a half full bottle of scotch, and while it wasn't my drink of choice, it would do. I took a swig of the bottle, and suddenly a flashback of last night attacked my senses, causing me to fall to the floor. I leaned against the table legs as I thought of Bella crumpled on the floor, naked, sobbing. Though she hadn't told me what happened yet, my instincts did. While she was explaining exactly what had gone on, I thought of how horrible it must've been to have the boy you love be so selfish. When all of her cries were quieted and she'd finally fell asleep, I went to go have a talk with him, but when I went to find him he didn't seem to be anywhere. I should've known then, but I had the feeling at the time that he was still in the house. _What a coward_ was the only response I had to the whole situation. The sound of footsteps coming near me was lost in the haze the alcohol already had on my system and the clear memories of last night.

"Alice, are you already drinking? It's only two-thirty!" Bella went to snatch the bottle out of my hand, but I quickly took it out of her reach. Quil approached me lower, squatting next to me to look at me eye level.

"Shawty, I am all for you getting inebriated and having poor judgment, but we need you to stay sober for a little while longer ok?" His comical approach to making me give up the bottle obviously worked because subconsciously I was handing the bottle to him. He smiled at me and offered his hand to help me up. I gave him a strange look and took his hand. _Where was this Quil coming from?_

"Let's make something to eat; I'm sure Edward wouldn't mind." Bella started towards the refrigerator, digging in to find something to make for the three of us. Not finding what she wanted in there, she started searching the cabinets. "Aha!" she announced as she turned with an extremely familiar blue box in her hand. "Macaroni and Cheese." She smiled and went back to the fridge to get the necessary ingredients for the mac and cheese.

"Yo, bells, is there another box? I'm starving." I rolled my eyes at the entrance of black Quil again. Bella nodded, grabbed the second box, and went off to find a pot to hold the pasta. I heard light padding coming down the stairs and part of me hoped it was Jake, telling us he'd just slept the day away. I saw Edward at the bottom of the stairs, coming towards the kitchen. He looked between Quil and I and his bottle of scotch a couple times before shrugging and sitting at the table. His freak out had left Bella and I a little shaken up to say the least, and I wasn't really in the right mindset to deal with crazy at the moment, so I sat down next to him and cradled my head in my arms against the table. My eyes slowly closed, tiredness quickly catching up with me from the lack of sleep I had last night. The slam of my bowl of macaroni woke me out of my nap, a snicker leaving Quil's lips. I made a mocking face at him and started eating my macaroni. I looked up at Edward who wasn't eating, but was staring at Bella like she was a meal. A shiver traveled through my body, making my hair stand on end. The room was silent other than the delicate clinking sounds of our forks hitting the side of our bowls. Bella was in another world, her eyes glazed over and staring at a knot in the wood table. Suddenly, she got up and quickly washed her bowl, whispering an "excuse me" to us. I followed right behind her to my bedroom. She sat on the bed, fresh tears littering her face.

"Bella, are you ok? I know you want to pretend you're strong enough to completely forget this-" she placed her hand close to my face, cutting me off.

"I know. I know I'm not strong enough. I just don't know what to do, what to think, or even _how_ to think. The only thing that circles in my mind is 'Why?' I don't see how he could do this to me, to us." She held her head in her hands, sniffing quietly. Not really knowing what to do I just rubbed her back, showing her I was there for her. She leaned slightly into me, her sobs getting louder by the second. I looked towards the door, seeing a shadow. I cocked my head to the side and called out a hello. Loud footsteps echoed in the hallway, the shadow quickly disappearing.

"Hold on a sec Bells," I whispered to her, "I think someone's out there." I softly walked towards the door, looking to the right and seeing a tip of Quil's jacket scamper down the hallway. Knowing it was him I ran at full speed, colliding with him when I finally caught up.

"YO GIRL WHAT GIVES?!" he screeched at me, wiping the dust from his clothing.

"YO BOY, why were you spying on Bella and I?"

"I just- well, I just- I don't know. I just want to know what happened, because it obviously made j-dawg upset enough to leave us stranded in the middle of nowheresville."

I shook my head, sweeping my hand through my hair, "Look, you can't tell a soul what I'm about to tell you. Bella didn't want me telling anybody."

"I'll make the unbreakable vow if you want me to." I looked up at his face, and all I saw was complete sincerity. I sighed and told him everything that had happened to Bella last night. I could tell in his eyes that he was torn between wanting to kill Jake for hurting Bella and wanting to take his best friend's side. When I finished he looked down and was silent for a moment, which wasn't usual for Quil. When he raised his head unshed tears glistened in his eyes, the dying sunlight catching the moisture. His head quickly looked over my shoulder, his eyes widening. I turned around only to see Bella, her face bright red with fury.

"I can't believe you told him! I trusted you Alice, I trusted you!" She ran off towards my room, shutting the door and locking it closed. I sank to the floor as my eyes filled with water as well.

"Shit, I can't do anything right." A sob rattled out of me as my hands covered my tear stained face. Quil rushed over to wear I sat and scooped me up in his arms. Weirdly, a calming feeling rushed through my body. I snuggled against his chest as he tried to calm me down by humming a soft melody. I stood up with me in his arms, making me cling to his body in fear of him dropping me. I looked at his face, but no looking of strain was found, causing my panicked state to lessen a little bit.

"Where are you t-t-taking me?" I got out, my body still racked with sobs.

"We're just gonna go in my room, since Bella locked you out of yours. I've got some liquid relief in my room as well." He smiled slightly at me, causing a tiny smile to crack in my saddened state.

Before we made it to his room, Edward stopped us to tell Quil that he would be unavailable for the evening; his brother needed some assistance down at the shop and he'd probably just stay with them tonight. Quil nodded, and Edward started towards my room to tell Bella.

Quil kicked his door with his foot, and set me down on the bed. On his way to close the door, he picked up his backpack.

"Alright, Jake took the Jack, and Edward took the Captain away from me for pretending to be a pirate, so we've got Jose…and Jose to hang with." I grabbed the half empty bottle out of his hand and took a swig. I handed it back to him, nodding at him to do the same. We didn't stop until the bottle was empty.

*****

"You gotz to walk with a lil' bit offfa limp kk?" Quil slurred at me. The alcohol had completely taken over my brain, making me beg Quil to give me ghetto lessons. He thought that the walk was the most important part of being a G; your swagger pretty much showed outsiders your thug appeal.

"Whys would I limp? I'm perrrfectly fine! HAHA!" I giggled and lost my balance, causing more laughter to pour out of me. "Yo G-quizzle, I don thinks I need help with mah speech, I gotz the gangsta talk dowwnnn." I got up off the floor, and tried to "swagger" again, adding the limp.

"That's one hellifed gangsta lean shawty! Yous so good at bein' ghetto. You be even better than me gurl!" he shouted, a light chuckle following.

I looked at Quil's face, a sloppy smile plastered on it from the drinks, but dead honesty apparent in his eyes.

With the alcohol pumping through my veins, I closed the distance between us and crashed my lips on to his. Instead of being taken by surprise like I assumed he would be, he instantly reciprocated, kissing back with full force. My tongue fiercely asked for acceptance into his mouth, which he fully allowed, massaging mine with his own. Though our kissing was frantic and rough, his hands were like silk on my body, lightly caressing me as if I were a doll sudden to break.

"You're so beautiful Alice" he whispered against my lips, making my heart race. "Everything about you is beautiful; your eyes, your nose, your lips, your cheeks, your shoulders, your legs, just, everything." He then proceeded to kiss everything he believed was beautiful. He started with my eyes, delicately kissing my eyelids. He gave me a kiss on the nose and the cheeks, but avoided my lips. He gently took of my shirt, an audible gasp escaping his lips. He kissed my shoulders, his hands roaming my naked back until he reached my bra. He looked into my eyes, asking for permission. I nodded slightly, and he unhooked my bra, throwing it to the floor.

"Oh god, Alice, so amazing." He stuttered out as his hands softly touched my breasts, one in each hand. He slid down my body a little bit, taking one of my nipples into his mouth. A light sigh escaped my lips as pleasure coursed through me. His tongue circled, using his lips to suck tenderly. His delicacy was driving me insane to the point that the moment his tongue touched my breast I grabbed his hair and pulled up.

"What's wrong baby?" he frantically looked at me, wondering what he did wrong.

"I'm not a doll, you won't break me." With that I locked on his lips, showing with my mouth what I wanted. He groaned loudly, breaking the kiss to take off his shirt. He rolled me on top of him, making me straddle his lap. I sat all the way up, making him whimper in the loss of my lips. I stood up, and while looking at the floor, took my pants and undies off. A boy had never seen me naked before, and the insecurities every girl has were bubbling to the surface. I risked my pride and looked up, seeing only lust and adoration in Quil's eyes. He growled low in his chest, slowly slinking towards me. He unbuttoned his pants, taking his boxers along with them. His eyes were still dark with lust as he grabbed a hold of me and kissed me passionately. Lifting me off the ground, I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me back to the bed. He aggressively laid me down, nibbling at my collarbone causing me to arch against him. He positioned himself, and slowly started to thrust into me. Every inch he went in he'd place kisses all over my face until he was all the way in.

"You ok Al?"

"Yeah, I'm ok."

He smiled lightly, and kissed me. "Good."

He started a slow rhythm in the beginning, delicately thrusting in and out. When it got to the point where he was just being too delicate, I started thrusting into him, causing him go groan loudly.

"ungh, Alice, fuck." He started speeding up, causing a familiar sensation to start in my lower stomach. Holding himself up with one hand, he held the other underneath my waist, pounding me into his cock. I tried to open my eyes to see him, but I couldn't. The pleasure ripping through me was getting too intense, my body begging for release.

"Fuck, you're so tight." Quil's words pushed me over the edge, a loud moan leaving me as I writhed underneath him, the muscles in me milking his cock, pushing him over as well. He leaned his forehead against my shoulder for a minute, getting his breath back. He rolled off of me, using his arms to call me towards him. We laid there for a while, his large hands rubbing my back with my fingers drawing designs on his chest. My throat started to burn with thirst, making me ask him to get water. He got up and put his boxers and shirt on, not bothering to put pants back on.

"I'll be right back."

*****

**QPOV**

_I had sex with Aaaalice! I had sex with Aaaalice!_ I chanted in my head as I went to get her a glass of water from the kitchen. Part of me was still in shock that my dream girl would ever find it in her to want me, and the other part was giving me props for being such a pimp. As I was weighing in between two strands of thought, I heard a loud noise from the 3rd floor. My drunken state wasn't nearly as bad as the night before, so I knew that I wasn't allowed up there. I tried to just ignore it, blame the sounds on the house being so freaking old, but I heard footsteps as well. Knowing Edward had left for the night, I felt it in my duty to keep my women safe and see if an intruder had gotten in.

I slowly walked up the stairs, and called out a, "Who be there?" but was only granted with silence. Every couple of stairs I'd call out a hello, but still, nobody said a word. I finally made it up the flight of stairs, and saw what looked like a shadow.

"Who's there?" I walked a little slower down the hallway, following the shadow I saw. The only light provided in the dark space was the moon's heavy glow, catching the edges of the person's shadow as they swiftly passed by the windows. "Yo fool, who you be?" The figure came to an abrupt stop and turned to face me.

"Yo homie, what you be doin' here? I thought you left!"

***A/N: Uh oh! Who did Quil run into?**

**Thanks to EVERYONE who voted for our story for the Indie Twific awards, you guys make us feel all warm inside (like the pancakes we get at IHOP, where we come up with our crazy ideas for this story).**

**Reviews are like Quil's ghetto lessons.***


	8. Chapter 8

***A/N* Thank you to everybody that is commenting and reviewing on either my posting or tellingmelies' posting of this story. You guys really light the way, making us able to keep writing this story. We definitely couldn't do it without you.**

**Chapter 8**

**EPOV**

I had to get out of the house. I needed to think; clear my head and I couldn't do that with so many people around. I needed to talk to Emmett, go over the things that we knew again and the things that we didn't. Everything had changed, it was different this time. _She_ was different. But was she the one? I sure as hell didn't know but I knew that if I didn't get this mess under control that we would never be able to find out.

Earlier I had gone downstairs to try to apologize to Bella and Alice about my behavior. I knew there was no excuse that I could give them that would make any sense but I had to try. I found the four of them in the kitchen making food. I saw the bottle of my finest scotch on the table and thought about saying something but bit back my remark when I looked at Alice. Her normal bubbly personality was gone; she now sat beside me solemn as she laid her head on the table. I glanced around the kitchen taking in the appearance of both Bella and Quil, their expressions mirrored Alice's and I wondered what had happened while I had been in my room. The silence weighed heavy on me but I couldn't bring myself to break it. Instead I sat while they ate around me, my eyes trained on Bella the whole time. She never looked up from her bowl, her mind clearly in another place. Panic welled up inside me. Was she afraid of me? Have I pushed her away? The silence was pieced by a screech as Bella pushed back her chair and excused herself. I watched her walk away to afraid to talk to her. Alice ran after her and Quil followed soon after leaving me alone with the silence. I don't know how long I sat there staring at the table before I knew I had to get out.

I heard the slamming of a door from upstairs, the sound echoing off the walls, and I made my decision to go see Emmett. Walking upstairs to tell my guests that I would be leaving I ran into Quil carrying a crying Alice.

"Is she ok?" I asked concerned. All my guests seemed to be losing their sparks. It was the curse of this place.

Quil nodded, "She will be. Just having a hard time with all this shit, you know?"

I sighed and looked away from Alice, "I need to run down to my brother's store. The one you guys stopped at last night." I explained when he gave me a questioning look. "My brother needs some help with a shipment, and depending on how late it goes I may just stay at his place." I lied, instantly regretting having to deceive them.

"Ok, cool." Quil shifted the tiny girl in his arms.

"I'll let you lay her down. I just wanted to inform you of my absence." Quil nodded once more and disappeared into his room.

I took a deep breath as I walked towards Alice's room. I knew Bella was inside. I could feel her, almost like a second heartbeat within mine. I leaned my forehead against the door, feeling her life within mine. This had to mean something. Didn't it?

I knocked softly on the door.

"Alice, go away." came the muffled response.

"Bella, it's me, Edward."

I could hear the rustling of the bed before the door cracked open and Bella peeked through. Her brown eyes were wide, the rims red.

"Edward?"

"Hey, are you ok?" I asked, lowering my voice to match her whispered tone.

She sighed heavily and walked away from the door. She didn't shut it, but I didn't know if she wanted me to follow her or not. I stood in the doorway torn by what I should do when I realized that it didn't matter what I should do, I had thrown that decision out the window when I let her into my home. Begrudgingly, I pushed open the door and followed her in. I found Bella sitting cross legged in the middle of the bed clutching a pillow in her hands. I stopped at the foot of the bed not knowing if she wanted me any closer. _Please want me to come closer._

"I wanted to let you know that I'm going to be leaving for awhile."

Her eyes shot up, "Leaving? You'll be coming back though, right?"

My heart soared, she wanted me to come back. "Yes, Bella. Why wouldn't I?"

She began picking at the frays of the pillow. "I don't know." She mumbled.

I sat on the end of the bed, still keeping my distance from her. "Bella, I want to apologize for actions earlier." She looked up at me. "I don't really know how to explain my reaction-"

"Edward, it's okay. You don't have to apologize. I mean, yeah it was a little sudden the way you ran out, but….umm…I should be the one to apologize."

I scooted closer to her, our knees barely touching. "Bella, what on earth do you have to apologize for?"

"The room." She bit her lip and looked down to where our knees touched. "I'll pay for the damages, and to have the carpet cleaned." I wanted to pull that damned lip out from between her teeth.

"You will do no such thing. From what I gather it was not your fault, therefore I will not let you pay." I was adamant about this. I had no clue what had transpired between her and Jake and as much as I wanted to ask her I knew that she needed to tell me on her own time.

We sat in silence for a few moments, both of us looking down at our legs. Bella cleared her throat and I looked up at her.

"He left."

"Who?" I asked but I was suddenly filled with a sinking feeling. _Please, please not him._

"Jake." _Shit._

I took a deep breath. "What do you mean?"

"We got into…well, last night he…ughh!" she threw the pillow on the ground. "He left! He just left! No words, nothing. Not even a goodbye." Her eyes met mine and they were filled with silent pools.

I didn't know what to say. What could I say? _Hey Bella, your boyfriend didn't leave, he probably met up with the monster under the bed and I highly doubt you'll ever see him again._ No. Instead I said.

"What do you mean he left?" Good Edward. "Maybe he just went out for a walk."

"Well, all of his stuff and his car are gone."

_What? _"What?" Oh good one.

She nodded. "Alice found it. Or lack thereof."

I nervously ran my hand through my hair. "I thought the car didn't work because of the crash."

"We all thought the same thing. I don't know. Jake's pretty good with cars, maybe he fixed it enough to get it running again." She looked at me, her eyes hopeful.

I couldn't help but feel slightly hopeful myself. If his car was gone that means that he had to move it. Maybe I had read the signs wrong. Maybe just maybe it didn't get loose. Maybe I had finally managed to keep it contained. My hope was instantly replaced with fury as I looked at the broken girl in front of me. How could he just leave her? Who would be so stupid? It didn't matter, I decided. I vowed right there that I would do anything to make her happy. _Happy?_ _Be serious, Edward, you can't make anyone happy. _I felt a sharp pain in my hand and I looked down to find that I was clenching my left hand so tight that I had drawn blood. Luckily Bella had yet to notice this as I hid my hand behind me.

"I guess we just didn't mean that much to him." She whispered, her voice breaking at the end.

"Bella." I whispered, she didn't look up. "Bella." I tried again. When she didn't respond I reached out with my right hand, placing my hand under her chin and gently pushing upward.

"He's a fool. Anyone that would walk away from you is a fool."

Her eyes widened slightly, her lips shaping the perfect O. My hand slid from her chin coming to a rest on the side of her face. She closed her eyes and leaned into my palm. Did she feel it too? I could think of no other explanation as I stared at her. How could she go from sadness to such pure content in less than a minute? Her eyes fluttered open.

"Where are you going?" she asked in a small voice.

_Nowhere. Everywhere. _

"I need to go help my brother out for awhile." Emmett, I thought. I needed to see Emmett.

"But you'll be back?"

"Of course. Where else would I go?" I replied, my voice dropping as I unconsciously leaned towards her. I knew this was wrong, I knew that I should stop, but all thoughts were brushed aside as I saw her leaning in, matching me speed for speed.

We were mere inches apart when a glitter of gold caught my eye. I looked down to see that Bella's necklace had fallen loose of her shirt and was dangling in between us, the light from the window reflecting off of the jewel causing gold streams to pierce the room. The moment my mind made sense of what it was I heard it.

The growl.

The pounding.

Ripping.

I jumped up, quickly dropping my hand from Bella. I had moved so fast that she was still slowly moving forward when she finally realized that I wasn't there.

"Edw-"

"I have to go." I said urgently making my way to the door. I paused under the frame and turned back. My heart broke as I saw Bella once again sitting alone in the middle of the bed looking broken. Her eyes were trained on me, full of confusion and concern.

I looked her dead in the eyes, "I _will_ be back, Bella."

She finally nodded and I left.

*****

It took me less than ten minutes to reach Emmett's store. I pulled my car into the deserted parking lot and rushed into the store.

"Edward? What are you doing here?" Jasper asked as he came around the corner.

I looked at the man in front of me, another person broken. I was instantly wrapped in guilt as I stared at him.

Jasper reached up and placed his arm on mine, "I don't blame you, Edward. I never have." His eyes were forgiving and I found myself nodding. Even if he didn't blame me, I did. Nothing would change that. Nothing would give Jasper back the use of his legs.

He dropped his arm, "What are you doing here?"

"I need to see Emmett."

Jasper stared at me for a second before turning around to get my brother. I could only imagine what was going on in his mind. I leaned against the counter and dropped my head into my hands. _Please God let us figure this out. I just need it to be over._

I knew it was pointless. My prayers were never answered, only my nightmares.

"Edward? What happened? What's going on?" I heard my brother's frantic voice as I lowered my hands and looked up.

Emmett stood in front of me, fear etched in his features. I knew why he looked scared. I had never come to the store before, hell, I don't even remember the last time I left my property. Jasper was right behind him looking disgusted. Disgust because he feared for what had happened. I couldn't blame him, I knew my history.

I swallowed my increasing panic, "I need to talk to you."

"Is every…thing okay?" Jasper asked. I knew what he was originally going to ask. He wanted to know if everyone was still alive.

I met his eyes, "I don't know." His gaze faltered as he looked away and I was once again racked with guilt.

"What do you mean 'you don't know'?" Emmett asked placing a hand on my shoulder.

"One of the guests is missing." Jasper sucked in a breath as Emmett's grip on my shoulder tightened.

"The girl? The brunette?" he asked frantically, shaking me.

"No, not her." Emmett relaxed, releasing me and rubbing his arms.

Jasper moved up next to my brother, "Than who?"

"Her boyfriend, Jacob."

We were all silent for a moment. Jasper wheeled over to the door and turned the sign over so that it now read 'Closed'. He locked the door before rejoining us.

"Did it…?" Emmett trailed off breaking the silence.

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "A part of me wants to say yes, that it got…out."

"Shit." Emmett whispered, while Jasper looked positively livid.

"But then this morning, his car was gone along with all of his things." I finished.

Emmett clapped his hands together, "Well, there you go. It couldn't have been…it. The kid just got freaked and left."

"Leaving all his friends, including his girlfriend?" Jasper asked skeptically.

"Hey, maybe the guy's a prick. I don't know and frankly I don't care." Emmett looked from Jasper to me. "What about the girl?"

_Bella._

I looked intently at my brother, "Emmet, why her? What about her made you think 'this is the one'?"

Emmett's face broke out into a grin, "She is, isn't she?" I didn't answer. "I knew it. Nothing else would get you out here." He leaned closer to me. "It's her, Edward. You know it too."

"But how?" I growled shoving away from the counter. "It's all stories, legends. How do we know that any of its true?"

He grabbed my shoulders and spun me around, our faces inches apart. "We have to believe." He gripped tighter. "_I_ have to believe."

I realized right then that Emmett blamed himself for my plight. I placed my hand over his.

"This isn't your fault, Emmett. You weren't the first born, I was."

"It isn't yours either, Edward." came Jasper's voice from behind me. I turned slowly to face him. His blue eyes were fixed on mine filled slightly with anger.

"It's hard to believe you when I can see your emotions in your eyes." I said softly.

He sighed, "My anger isn't towards you, it never has been. But I can't pretend anymore. I love you Edward, you and Emmett are the only family I've ever known. But I can't keep looking away as people continue to get hurt! I want so bad to believe in this 'cure', but it's getting harder every time."

"You don't think it's hard for me?" I yelled. "I have to live there. I have to live with it. No one else! Do you know how that feels?" I took a deep breath trying to calm myself. I turned back to Emmett. "After they leave, no more. I don't care what happens to me, no one else will get hurt because of this."

My younger brother looked like he was going to disagree but then thought against it. Instead he shook his head, "It won't matter. This is it."

I watched him pace back and forth muttering to himself, willing himself to believe that this girl was special. That _Bella_ was special. As much as I wanted to believe it, I couldn't allow myself to feel happy. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever feel happy.

"Why don't we all go sit down?" Jasper asked causing Emmett to pause and nod. I followed both of them out the back door of the store. We followed a cement path that lead to the house that the two of them shared hidden behind the store. Jasper switched on the light as Emmett went and grabbed three beers out of the fridge. We sat around the kitchen table, each of us lost in thought, silently sipping our beers. Finally I couldn't take it anymore.

"Why her, Emmett?"

He leaned forward on his elbows, "You felt it too, didn't you?"

"I won't deny that there's some…draw towards her." I hesitated and Jasper noticed.

"What sort of draw?" he asked.

"I don't know how to explain it." I played with the rim of my bottle. "I can feel her everywhere. I know when she's coming before she arrives. She calms me before I know I'm angry and I feel…protective of her." I slammed my fist on the table. "It's only been one night. How is this possible?"

I looked up at the faces surrounding me, pleading with them to help me understand. Anything. I just needed…something. I was met with confusion and fear.

"There's another thing." They both leaned forward. "She wears this necklace, this amulet type jewel. I think that this, this jewel, somehow calls to it."

Jasper sucked in a breath while Emmett was bouncing in his seat. "An amulet?" Jasper asked. I nodded. "Can you describe it?"

I reached behind me and grabbed the notebook that was sitting on the desk. I pictured Bella's neck in my mind, the amulet glowing against her pale skin. My hand flew across the page as I drew from memory. When I was done I looked down and saw the amulet staring back at me, every detail perfect down to the markings on the jewel. I shoved the paper towards Jasper. He scrunched up his nose in concentrations and he looked over it.

"The markings are old, possibly early Wiccan. I can't be sure though. I'll have to do some research." He tucked the paper into his pocket and leaned back in his chair. "But Edward, I don't want you to get your hopes up. This could turn out to be nothing."

"I know, Jasper, believe me, I know." A look passed between the two of us before Emmet jumped in.

"Let's go through what we know." I nodded, this was what I came here for, to go through the history once more. "We know it began in 1692….."

*****

We relived our history until it was dark outside, no more closer to an answer than before. Emmett yawned loudly, stretching in his chair. I rubbed my eyes and noticed the time. Jasper followed my gaze to the clock on the wall.

"Do you need to get back?" he asked, a slight hesitation in his voice.

I shook my head, "I told them if it got to be too late I would just stay here."

"Is that wise?" Jasper was watching my reaction.

I nodded, "They're as safe there as they will ever be." He seemed to think about that before nodding.

Emmett stood up, "Your room is still the way you left it."

"Thank you." I said and I didn't mean just for the room. Emmett smiled, a timid smile and then he turned and walked towards his room. I left Jasper sitting at the table going over the papers and made my way to my old room. Emmett wasn't kidding when he said it was still the same. I had lived with Emmett and Jasper up until my parents died, then I moved to the house. In hindsight it was the best decision I've made. It's kept Emmett and Jasper safe and it's easier to control it when I'm at the house.

I laid down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling, smiling at the poster of the Pittsburgh Penguins that hung there. I remembered going to games with my father, Emmett and Jasper when we were young. I missed those days terribly. I rolled to my side and closed my eyes. Visions of Bella swam behind my eyelids and I drifted off to sleep.

*****

**Jasper's POV**

I woke up to sunlight on my face. Damn, I had forgotten to close the curtains before I went to bed. Settling myself into my chair I made my way down the hall. The house was still quiet leading me to believe that everyone was still asleep, but I had to be sure. I checked on Emmett first and found him passed out on top of his blankets. I smiled to myself and made my way to Edwards's room. I paused at the door. Taking a deep breath I pushed myself in. Edward was curled up in the corner of the bed, blanket pulled way up to his chin. He looked so peaceful then, almost like the boy I remembered. It was so unfair the life that was given to him. My hands gripped the sides of my chair as I leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you, brother." I whispered before leaving the room.

I came to a stop by the desk pausing before I picked up the phone. I hated to do this, but at the same time I couldn't just sit by and watch more lives get torn apart. It had to end. If this girl was the one, it would all work itself out. If she wasn't, then I needed to get her and her friends out.

With a heavy heart I put the phone to my ear and dialed.

"Sheriff's Department."

*********

**Reviews are priceless.  
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	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**APOV**

The comforting warmth of the morning sun cascaded down on me, bringing me out of my intoxicated sleep. I sat up and slid open my eyes, only to completely regret doing so. The brightness of the light caused my head to throb and my body to subconsciously throw itself back against the bed.

"Oh good god…" I groaned, as I slowly started waking up and the nausea quickly became apparent. Realizing I needed to wake up at some point, I opened my eyes again. I looked around me, noticing I wasn't in my own room. _What happened last night?_

"What the hell?" I scoured my brain for information on what happened, but I couldn't remember. Sighing, I started to get out of bed only to be greeted with a dull ache from midway through my thighs to the top of my hips. I moved the comforter off of me to see that I wasn't wearing any clothing. It took only a few seconds of confusion to realize what happened. A silent tear escaped my eye and slid down my cheek. Losing your virginity was supposed to be a big deal, right? It killed me that I didn't remember any of it. I looked around the room again, trying to push my feelings down. Figuring I was in Quil's room due to his backpack unzipped and torn through on the floor, I started to wonder where he was. Guessing that he went to the kitchen, I walked towards the bathroom to take a shower.

The moment the hot water touched my skin I felt much better. My muscles relaxed, the pattering of the water against the shower floor calming my mind for a moment. I stopped midway through shampooing my hair with Quil's shampoo and dropped my arms to my sides. I just lost my virginity. I didn't even remember what happened. I lost my virginity to _Quil_. More tears started to flow down my face as I slumped down to the ground, the reality of the situation dawning on me. _Did he wear a condom?_ I felt so dumb and reckless. I had barely gone to second base with a guy, and I just give it up in one night to someone who isn't my boyfriend? Not only did I act recklessly, I didn't even remember how it had happened. I closed my eyes, pleading for the regret to stop bubbling in my chest.

_"You're so beautiful Alice"_

"_Oh god, Alice, so amazing"_

Although I couldn't remember exactly what had happened, those two phrases suddenly slipped through my intoxicated mind and claimed a spot in my memories. I kept trying to concentrate, trying to will myself to remember any part of last night. I remembered Bella getting upset at me yesterday because I told Quil what had happened between Jacob and her. After that I remember Edward saying he was leaving for the night to go help his brother. Then…the Jose. I quickly finished shampooing my hair and rinsed, hopping out of the shower. I grabbed a fresh towel on the counter and went into Quil's room to search for the tequila. I came across the bottle, finding it empty.

"Holy shit, we drank it all?" I was flabbergasted. I didn't hold my liquor _that_ well. I sat back down on the bed, more flashbacks coming at me.

_Quil told me I was better at being ghetto than he was. I kissed him._

I had initiated everything. I shook my head like I was trying to etch-a-sketch the whole night from even my diluted memories. Getting up from the bed, I walked to the door stopping to take one more look around the room. I started walking towards my room, remembering Bella was in there. I knocked on the door lightly, hoping I wasn't waking her.

"Bella? Look Bells, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have told Quil, but he wanted to know why Jake just got up and left us stranded. There's no excuse for disobeying your trust, but it's the best reason I have." I heard light movement in the room. A sigh escaped from behind the door as it was unlocked and opened. I stared at Bella for a moment, her eyes surrounded by purple circles from lack of sleep.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry," I moved quickly towards her throwing my arms around her. After a few seconds her arms gradually went around me, reciprocating the hug. She backed away rather quickly and I gave her a questioning look.

"I do forgive you Alice, but shouldn't you put some clothes on?" I looked down and realized I'd forgotten I was just in a towel. I giggled and ran into the room towards the armoire. I pulled out a pair of pants and found a shirt. I slipped into some underwear and a bra and put the rest of my clothes on and met Bella back in the room.

"Look, I have something to tell you…" Bella turned around to face me and as I looked up from the ground, a slight hint on concern laced in her stare.

"What's wrong Al? What happened?" A tear slipped down my face as I summed up the courage to tell her what happened. I looked into her eyes and received the courage tenfold.

"I had sex with Quil." The silence in the room was deafening. She just stared at me for a long moment, wondering when I was going to laugh and spout out "JUST KIDDING!". When it didn't show, her eyes went wide and her head turned away.

"Are you serious? You lost your virginity to _Quil_?" She got up off the bed and came towards me. She had an incredulous look on her face, her eyes lost in the shock of what I told her.

"I know. I don't know what happened."

"But you- you hate Quil."

"I know, Bella."

"You think he's horribly immature, and whenever he makes a sexual advance towards you, you get that grossed out, Im-going-to-vomit-watch-out look."

"You don't think I know that Bella?" I ran my hands through my hair, realizing I had started to pace back and forth.

"How- Well not HOW- but, why did this happen?"

I took a deep breath before I started to reason with my stupid mistake. "Well, I was upset because of our fight, so I may or may not have gotten completely blitzed off of Jose Cuervo and I may or may not have almost literally no memory of what happened after I took a couple swigs off the bottle."

"Hoooooly shit. You- You don't remember having sex? Then how do you know you did?"

"Well, I woke up naked with horribly sore upper thighs, hips, and vag. I'm pretty sure I had sex." The reminder of the pain brought it back slightly, making me rub my inner thighs. Bella cleared the space between us and brought me in for a big hug.

"I'm so sorry! Oh Al, I'm sorry it had to happen that way."

"It's ok, I think. I mean, it definitely wasn't the way I had planned it, but when does it ever go that way, right? I just wish I could remember at all, the important stuff though. Like, did he wear a condom? Did he enjoy it? Was it HIS first time?"

Bella rubbed my arm gently, giving me her slightly motherly smile, "Well, the only person who can answer those questions is Quil. Why didn't you ask him when you woke up?"

"He wasn't there when I woke up." When I said it out loud I realized how messed up that was. I'd just lost my virginity and woke up alone, hung over, and scared. Suddenly I was extremely mad at him.

"Are you serious? Are you sure he didn't just leave for a moment? Quil's a special kind of special, but he isn't a douche."

I shrugged and nodded. "Maybe he went to the kitchen, but I dunno. I was a while in the shower, and he still didn't come back."

"Maybe he's eating in the kitchen, I mean, with his appetite and all. Let's go check it out." Bella and I proceeded towards the kitchen only to find it empty. We searched all of the areas we've been in before, and looked outside. Coming back into the kitchen, a weird current traveling in the air. _Where could he be?_ The front door slammed, making us both jump up and we ran towards it.

"Quil?" we both shouted at the same time, only to run into Edward.

"Ah, no, sorry to disappoint." Edward sheepishly smiled at us. Bella giggled in a weird way I'd never heard her giggle, and I rolled my eyes. _Figures._ Of course she'd swoon over the extremely creepy innkeeper in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. It was so like Bella to dive head first into destruction. I shook my head, remembering more important events transpiring.

"Have you seen Quil?"

"No, sorry, I just got home from Emmett's. Is he missing too?" Edward shot me a confused yet worried look.

"Well, I haven't seen him all morning and…certain things happened last night, and I really need to talk to him. I tried to find him, but no such luck. It's like he vanished."

Edward chuckled nervously and shook his head, "Well, he couldn't have just disappeared. Why don't we all split up and take a floor to search. I'll take the third, Bella can take the second, and you can take the first."

I nodded and headed back towards the kitchen.

**BPOV**

I watched as Edward walked up to the third floor. He seemed a little more anxious than normal. Something was up with him and I just wished he would tell me what. I couldn't even begin to fathom the connection that I felt with him. I felt like a schoolgirl with a crush on her professor. Pathetic Bella. Jake's been gone a couple of days and what, I move on to the next closest thing.

I followed Edward up the stairs but stopped on the second floor. The house was quiet, too quiet and I began humming to myself, trying to distract myself from the oddities that had occurred since we got here. I peeked briefly into the room Quil had occupied, nothing. Jake's room was empty as well and I realized I could say that without wanting to cry. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts as I walked into another guest bedroom.

This was ridiculous. Quil would never hide from us, especially after the whole Jake fiasco and definitely not after what happened with Alice. Gosh, I still couldn't wrap my head around that. To say I was shocked was an understatement. But then again, this whole trip was nothing what I expected it to be.

A hand tapped on my shoulder and I jumped a foot in the air. I spun around, clutching my chest and found Edward.

"Shoot! Oh my God, Edward! You scared me!"

A small smile played on his lips, "Sorry, I didn't mean to. Have you found anything?"

I looked down, shaking my head, "No, I haven't found any trace of him anywhere. It _is_ like he just vanished. I mean, we all knew Jacob left. All of his stuff was gone. Quil, on the other hand, has completely taken over one of your guest rooms with all of his stuff. Weirdly, he only brought a backpack. We always thought his backpack was a lot like Mary Poppin's magical purse. And I'm rambling, aren't I?"

His eyes roamed over my face before settling on my neck, "Where's your necklace?"

My hand flew up to my neck, "Oh, I guess I forgot to put it on. It's really uncomfortable to sleep in, so I've been taking it off at night."

Edward shifted slightly, his eyes never moving up, "So, when did you get it?"

"I actually got it as a graduation present, so only about a week ago. My mom gave it to me; supposedly it's been in my family for generations." I was confused as to why he was suddenly so interested in my necklace.

"Well, it's beautiful. It makes your eyes glow."

I felt my cheeks flush at his compliment and then I felt his hand on my cheek. Very slowly it moved down, leaving a burning trail to my jaw. My eyes fell to his hand as his fingers ghosted over my lips before settling on the opposite cheek. Without thinking I turned into his palm and laid a whisper of a kiss. Summoning all my courage, I forced myself to meet his eyes. The green had darkened, not to the black I had seen earlier, more like a forest green at twilight, his lids heavy. He gently pulled me against him, our bodies flush against one another. He was so gorgeous, perfect, like he was molded out of the vision of an angel. I didn't deserve him, but God, did I want him. Torturously slow, his lips met mine.

My brain was trying to process a million thoughts a minute, yet the moment his lips touched mine everything went blank. I couldn't concentrate on anything but how soft his lips were, and how good he tasted. I couldn't even place it; all I knew is that I could never have enough of it. He pulled away slightly and I didn't want it to end. I don't know what came over me as I basically jumped on him and attacked his lips. Shocked for only a moment, he quickly caught on and kissed me back with earnest. I ran my hands up his shoulders and neck to his hair, touching its delicate disarray. Suddenly I felt his tongue push against my lips and my mouth gladly invited him in. His hands eagerly caressed my hair, pulling slightly. A moan escaped my lips, causing him to gasp. Walking towards the bed, he gently lowered us, practically pinning me under him. I could feel him against my thigh and my lower body reacted.

I knew we should stop, that this was too soon, but it was like my body and my mind were disconnected, neither wanting to help the other out.

As his hand started to roam down my stomach the doorbell rang. Ignoring it, he touched my inner thigh and slowly started moving it up. Instantly shying away from something so intimate, I stopped kissing him, making him pull away.

"What's wrong love?"

"Edward, someone's at the door." He rolled over, taking a deep breath. He smiled at me, and put one finger up. Curious, I followed him to the beginning of the staircase towards the first floor where I could see the door. While he made his way to the front door, I saw Alice. I motioned for her with my hand, making her climb the stairs two at a time. We hid behind a wall, wanting to see who was here.

Edward opened the door and through the crack I could see what appeared to be a police officer. Alice tapped on my shoulder to get my attention. I shrugged her off trying to hear what they were talking about but they were too far.

"He looks like Joey Lawrence," Alice whispered in my ear and I had to clap my hand over my mouth to stifle my giggles because the officer did look like Joey Lawrence.

Edward's head whipped around and his eyes found mine. I gasped at the expression I found there. Fear. Pain. Alice tugged on my arm this time and I reluctantly gave in, following her back to her room. She shut the door behind her and leaned against it while I perched on her bed.

My mind finally started catching up with what had just happened. There was an officer here. We had two people missing. I knew these were important issues and we should probably go downstairs and talk to the officer but I couldn't move. I had just made out with Edward. I was still with Jacob. Even after what he did, I still thought of us as together. I had just cheated on him. The word _cheater_ echoed in my head over and over again, causing my chest to constrict. I started breathing weirdly.

"Bella! What's wrong?" Alice was by my side instantly.

I drew my legs up to my chest, "I cheated on Jacob with Edward. I just made out with Edward."

"WHAT?"

**EPOV**

_Who the fuck would be coming to the door right now? If it's Emmett, I swear to god I'm going to kill him…_

I opened the door to see a man standing on the porch with his back to me. He seemed to be average height and average weight. A few seconds after I opened the door he turned to face me. I panicked the moment I saw his badge. _Jasper_. I tried to keep calm as well as I could, acting like the perfect citizen but I felt _it_ stirring.

"Good evening Officer. How may I be of service?"

He grabbed the tip of his hat and moved it on his head very slightly. His hand slid down his face towards his light stubble as his short fingertips scratched.

"I'm Officer Crowley. I got a call at the break of dawn reporting a missing person."

I felt my stomach clench. Missing person. Breathe, Edward. I heard a noise behind me and turned to find Bella and Alice crouched at the top of the staircase. Bella's eyes widened when they met mine and she allowed Alice to pull her down the hall.

"Mind if I look around?" The cop asked wasting no time with my answer and pushing past me towards the foyer. "Caller says the missing person is a guest at your inn? Tell me, do you have any missing guests?"

I could feel sweat starting to form as I tried to keep my composure. "Um, I had a guest leave in the middle of the night with no indication of why he left, but other than that, no."

The cop kept rummaging around the first floor, looking in every room; obviously, if I was a killer, I'd leave the corpse in the kitchen for my other guests to see. My heart started beating a little quicker when he hit the stairs. _Is he going to look through the entire house?_ As we walked down the long corridors of my second floor, I could hear faint whispers behind Alice's door. The magnetic pull Bella has practically dragged me into the door, my body and mind wishing with all my might that this stupid cop would've never came in the first place and I'd be with her. I could still feel the electric kisses she laid on my lips, sending shockwaves through my entire being.

In my daydreaming I hadn't realized that the cop had started to go up the stairs towards the 3rd floor.

_Shit._

"Don't- Don't go up there!" I shouted towards him as he ascended up the stairs.

"Why? Is this where you're keeping him hidden? Young man, stay down there. I'm going to check around up here." The officer held his hand up to me like I was a dog, commanding me to stay in my position. All of Bella's magic left my body the moment I heard the creaking of the floorboards upstairs. I slumped to the floor in defeat, knowing what was coming next.

**UNKNOWN POV**

_His_ grasp was thin, wires frayed at the ends, splintering. It wouldn't be long now, not with the other presence that was within the house. I could feel it every minute, a low vibrating hum in the back of my mind, each day growing louder and louder. _He_ hasn't had the nerve to deal with it yet, but I knew _he_ was as aware of it as I was. Did _he_ think this could help him? Did _he_ think this would rid him of me? Did _he _think I would let him? The humming began again; louder still and I felt something move inside of me, almost a tearing, like I was being torn apart. I staggered.

_NO!_

I reached out, my hands grasping the closest thing within reach. It was dust at my feet in seconds, whatever it had been. This would end tonight.

A noise sounded in front of me. With each soft creaking of the floorboards under this newcomers worn shoes, my hunger intensified tenfold. Another one. My third in as many days. The smell, mouthwatering…purely human. I let out a low growl and felt him hesitate.

"This is Officer Crowley. Please identify yourself." His voice rang out, confident, strong.

This one would taste good.

I stalked up behind the retreating figure becoming his personal shadow. Where he stepped, I stepped. His shoulders stiffened slightly as if he felt my presence, but he never turned around. Slowly, the human reached towards his hip. He pulled something out of a case; it was shiny, reflecting off the mirror beside me. I sniffed. It was bitter, not too potent. I was intrigued as to what this human was clinging too. Without warning he flung himself around and stood before me in a wide stance, his arms out in front of him holding that intriguing object. His eyes went wide at the sight of me.

I cocked my head to the side. Was this a weapon of sorts? Did he think this would save him? I noticed his mouth was moving, but I wasn't listening. I was too busy watching, waiting.

"Don't fucking move or I'll shoot."

_Shoot?_

I laughed and I saw him wince at the sound. As I took a step forward I heard a soft click as the human pulled something back on top of his weapon. I walked forward. My eye zoned in on his finger as it began to put pressure on what I assumed was the trigger.

"Fuck you."

That was all he was able to get out as I raised my hand and in mere seconds had him lying on the floor, his 'weapon' on the other side of the room. I crouched over him, breathing in the scent of his blood as it pooled out from the wound at his side. I reached down, dipping my fingers in the gash. His eyes were wide as I lifted my hand to my mouth and tasted him.

"What are you?" he rasped out.

I smiled as I lowered myself to him.

**A/N: ** I am loving all the theories, please keep them coming. The revelation of the "monster" will be known VERY soon!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry for the HUGE delay in updates. Life was horrible and busy for a long time. Now life is much less horrible and busy. Expect updates much more often.**

**Chapter 10**

**BPOV**

"I kissed Edward," I said in almost a whisper as Alice just stared at me.

Her eyes grew wide in surprise. "What? When?"

I leaned against the headboard as I explained to Alice what had happened. She gasped as I told her how we'd wound up on the bed and then how we were interrupted by the door. I closed my eyes as I finished up, trying to calm all my thoughts. My mind was racing, constantly pounding me with images of Jake, the police officer, Quil, and of course, Edward. Vividly, I saw his green eyes as he looked from the cop to me. Once again, I was confused by the expanse of emotion I saw there.

Everything was going wrong. This was supposed to be our last summer of sorts, the last time we were all to be together. But now Jake had left, Quil was missing, there was a cop downstairs talking to someone who was almost a complete stranger to me, but yet I felt an unnatural pull towards him. Almost as if part of me recognized him, which was ridiculous because I had never seen him before this week.

"Bella?" Alice's voice brought me out of my haze. I blinked and looked at her. "Are you ok?"

I let out a laugh, "I feel like I'm in some twisted version of the Twilight Zone. With everything that's been happening between me and Edward, and you and Quil. I mean, what the hell?"

Alice nodded. "I think it's this house." I gave her a skeptical look. "No, really. I've felt off since I got here. There's some, I don't know, presence here."

"Alice," I said.

"I know you don't believe in that stuff, but I know you've felt it too."

I shrugged, not really wanting to get into it with her right now. Alice sensed my lack of enthusiasm and stopped pressing the issue. We sat in silence for what felt like hours, both of us just staring off in different directions, lost in our own thoughts. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was blinking against the light. The sun was high, shinning through the room. We were wasting time. We needed to get out of here and figure out what's been going on. I turned towards Alice, ready to tell her we needed to leave, only to be met with her sleeping form. I smiled to myself and covered her with the comforter. I'd let her rest and then when she woke up, we had to leave.

Leave Edward.

I couldn't explain the tightening in my chest at the thought of leaving Edward. I sighed in frustration. Making as little noise as possible, I climbed over Alice and made my way out of the room. The house was eerily silent as I walked down the stairs, my footsteps echoing loudly. I paused at the bottom step, looking around. No sign of life anywhere.

A loud thumping came from my left and I turned to see a frantic looking Edward running towards the front door. His hair was disheveled, face flushed and it looked like he was mumbling to himself.

"Edward?" I asked, cautiously.

Edward whipped around, fear masking his face. When he finally noticed me, he took a deep breath and visibly calmed himself.

"Bella," he rasped out.

"Are you okay?" I took a step towards him.

He held up his hand, shaking his head. "Please. I have to go out. Just promise me – please be here when I get back."

"Edward -"

"I'll explain everything. I promise. Just please be here."

His eyes pleaded with mine and I couldn't deny him. I nodded, slowly. He smiled at me, but it was a sad smile and then he was gone. I sunk down onto the bottom step, staring at the closed door.

"Was that Edward?" Alice asked, sitting down next to me. I nodded. "Where's he going?"

"I don't know," I answered, a bit dejectedly.

Alice patted my back and then jumped up, clapping her hands together.

"Well, let's get all of our stuff together. Edward has to have a car, or something. Maybe he can get us to that store that we stopped at, then we can call and finally go home - or well, New York. Somewhere that's not here."

I followed her back up to our rooms. I closed the door behind me, glancing around the room once again. Scenes played before my eyes, like almost from a movie. Jake and that night...the night that started all this. But all of what? I was so confused. I pushed myself off the door and began shoving my stuff into my suitcase. My mind wondered to Edward; what he was doing, what he would think of me leaving. Would he even care? I threw my sweater down. Why did I even care?

Leaving everything in a pile on the bed, I went and sat down on the bench in front of the window. It was raining again. I could barely make out the trees that surrounded the house. I just sat there, thinking. Thinking about everything and nothing at the same time. I would speak to Edward privately before we left. It was probably a stupid thing to do, but I wouldn't leave without knowing what he felt about all of this. With my mind made up, I stood to finish packing.

"Bella! We have to leave! NOW!"

Alice burst into the room, panting. She quickly glanced around before running towards me. Her eyes were wide, face white with terror.

"Alice, wha-?"

She grabbed my hands, pushing me away from the suitcase and began shoving my clothes into the luggage at record speed.

"There's no time. We have to get out of here!" She turned toward me then. "Please, trust me."

And just like that, I did.

When Alice saw that I had packing under control, she headed back to her room to get her bags, instructing me to meet her downstairs in no more than ten minutes. My heart was beating frantically as I zipped up my suitcase and made my way to the door. I paused, taking one last look around. I couldn't shake this feeling that I was missing something - something important. I shut the door, and with a sigh, began heading down the stairs.

"Just move, Edward! We're leaving!"

I froze at the top of the stairs. Alice's tone was one that I had never heard from her before.

"Alice, please. You don't - just stay. I _need _you to stay." Edward's voice was panicked and I could vaguely make out the image of him pulling on his hair. I was about to intervene when Alice's next outburst stopped me in my tracks.

"Stay? So you can chop us up like Jake and Quil and that cop guy!"

What? No, no, no. Edward would never...Alice didn't know what she was talking about.

"I found the cops hat, Edward. It's covered in blood."

"Alice, please -"

"What did you do to him? What did you do to Jake?"

Edward was pacing back and forth in front of Alice, his head gripped tightly between his hands. At the mention of Jake, he rounded on Alice, his arms hanging stiffly by his side. From my position on the stairs I could see Alice's reactions perfectly, Edward, on the other hand, had his back to me.

"Jake? What I did to Jake? What about what he did to Bella?" Edward's voice was no longer weak and begging, it had taken on an entirely different tone entirely. He was practically growling at Alice. "He deserved everything he got."

Alice's gasp hid mine. "And Quil?" Alice asked, meekly.

"He was weak." Edward responded, almost nonchalantly. His voice was completely different now. It didn't sound anything like the Edward I had come to know. "But you," he took a step towards Alice, "you and your friend just had to come here and ruin everything. I almost had him! Oh yes, he's tried to fight me before, but it was always just child's play. But now, he fights and it's all because of _her_!"

_Me?_

"Bella?" Alice's face showed the confusion that I felt.

"Bella," Edward sneered. "And to think, you thought this would protect you." He reached into his pocket and pulled something out, dangling it in front of Alice. My necklace! My hand flew instinctively to my throat and was met with nothing. I could feel my heartbeat speed up. When did he take it? Was it during the time that I fell asleep? I couldn't stop the chill that moved through me at the thought of Edward watching me as I slept.

It seemed that the confirmation sparked something within Alice. She pushed her shoulders back and jutted out her chin. "You will not touch her!" Alice reached her tiny hand out and tried to grab my necklace back from Edward. Her hand wrapped around the charm and she pulled. So fast that I didn't see him move, Edward's hand wrapped around Alice's wrist. She fought against him and the thin chain of my necklace snapped. Neither seemed to care as the chain fell to the ground. I knew I should move. I should go down there and place myself right next to Alice. But I couldn't will my legs to move. Instead, they defied me and I found myself sitting on the top step, hands gripping the banister as I peered through the bars. My best friend was always a spry little one, never really thinking of the consequences of her actions. She acted more on impulse, like she was now as she raised her free hand and smacked Edward across the face.

Edward's body hardly reacted to the attack, almost as if he didn't feel it. But he knew what had happened as he forgot all about trying to get my charm and focused all his attention on Alice. His free hand was suddenly around her throat, pulling her body closer to him. Alice's little body struggled as she tried to break away. The hand clutching the charm opened and it fell to the ground with a clunk and rolled away, hiding under an old sitting desk, almost as if it were protecting itself. Little gasps of air drew my attention back to the fight and I finally found my voice.

"Alice!" I shouted, standing up.

Edward's head whipped around at the sound of my voice. His eyes, what were normally a vibrant shade of green, were now the deepest black that I had ever seen. I let out a gasp, almost falling back down. My hand found the banister, clinging to it for support. Edward blinked and a shudder ran through his body. His face contorted, almost as in pain and his grip loosened slightly on Alice, allowing her to call out to me.

"Bella! Run!"

Her outburst drew Edward's attention back to her. I watched as the hand around her neck began to shake. Very slowly they opened, allowing Alice to to break free. Her hands flew to her neck as Edward doubled over almost as if in pain. Alice looked up, meeting my eyes, and took a step towards me as I began to descend the stairs. Edward struggled on the floor, some internal battle raging within. In the split second that Alice turned to me, Edward had crawled to the panel next to the door, his hand making quick over the buttons before slamming down on the final one. A loud groan erupted from the house, small vibrations moving through the walls. I froze and noticed that Alice did too. We both were looking around trying to figure out what the noise was. From his broken position, Edward reached a hand out and grabbed Alice's arm, whipping her back to him.

"Get out," he gasped. "Go now!" He began pulling her towards the door, the humming growing louder.

Alice tried to fight against him, but he was too strong. I took another step down when the house started to gradually get darker. My eyes were pulled to the windows and my heartbeat sped up as I realized what was happening. The noise...the darkness. The house was shutting down. My breathing quickly sped up. This couldn't be happening. No one's house just shuts itself up. This was straight out of some horror movie. I loud scream brought my attention back to the floor. Edward had all but lifted Alice and carried her to the door. With one hand he threw open the door as the other shoved Alice toward the opening.

"Bella!" she screamed again.

"You have to go!" Edward was shouting, his tone sounded scared now. I could see the top of the metal prison slowly descending, about to lock us in at any moment. "Please," Edward begged. "Go!"

With one last push, he succeeded in getting Alice out - just as the metal prison closed it's final gate. I stood, frozen, on the stairs. Panic rising quickly as I tried to figure out what to do. Edward was standing at the door, his forehead resting against the metal.

"Edward?" I asked, hesitantly.

His shoulders stiffened when he heard my voice. My knuckles were white with the force that I was gripping the railing and I realized that I probably shouldn't have reminded him that I was here. His hand slid down the door, leaving the imprint of his fingers as they left the wood and the door shut with a thud. Edward turned then, looking up at me. His eyes were back to green, but a deep green that held anger and pain. His body sagged against the door with an invisible weight as he struggled to speak.

"Bella," he finally forced out. "I'm sorry. I couldn't -" He doubled over as if in pain, his eyes squeezing shut. His arm flung out, searching for anything to grab onto. It finally settled on the table by the door and I watched as the wood turned to dust under his grip. "Go! Please, get out of here!"

I can't explain what made me take another step toward him. "Edward, what's going on?"

He lifted his head then, eyes still shut. "Bella, please. I can't hold on anymore. It's...too strong." His eyes flew open and I covered my mouth trying to stifle my scream. His beautiful green eyes were now being overtaken by darkness, growing more black with each passing second.

"Run!" he screamed at me and this time I listened. I turned quickly and ran up the stairs. But of course, my foot caught on a step and sent me falling forward, landing painfully on my palms, my knee slamming into the lower step. I glanced behind me and all I could see was the black that was now Edward's eyes. An evil smile spread over his lips and I knew I was out of time. Pushing myself up, I sprinted up the stairs, running in the opposite direction of my room. Grabbing the first door handle I saw, I threw myself into the room and then let out a cry of frustration as I realized there was no lock. I was in a linen closet.

"Fuck!" I shouted, then quickly panicked. Had he heard me? I leaned up against the door, straining to hear anything. Hopefully, he would assume I ran back to my room, or even Alice's. The only sound was my frantic breathing and I struggled to get that under control. And then I heard it, the heavy footsteps signaling his arrival on the second floor.

"Bella?" My name came out in a sing-song voice that sent chills down my spine. "Why don't you just come out? Save us all the trouble" I heard him open a door, followed by a loud crash, then he was back in the hallway. "You can't hide from me. There's nothing here to protect you." Another door opened, farther away from me this time. "It's almost comical how Edward thought he could save you. How he thought he loved you. I'll show him when I rip that beating heart out of your fucking body!" A loud crash sounded and I clasped my hands over my mouth, trying to silent my whimpers.

I was trapped. I had nowhere to go. Nothing to do but sit here until he found me. I shuffled backwards until my back hit a shelf. I slid down to the floor, cowering in the open space under the shelf. I leaned against the wall and then suddenly I was tumbling backwards.

My head smacked against something cold and hard and I pushed myself up in time to see the linen closet disappear behind a hidden door.

Another hidden door. I looked around, seeing nothing but darkness. I held up my hands and let out a cry when I couldn't even see them. I reached out blindly, feeling a cold wall next to me. I gathered I was in a hallway, not even tall enough for me to stand. Scooting myself until my back was against the wall, pulling my knees up to my chest. Logically, I knew I should keep moving. He would find me. This was his house. He had to know all of the passages. But I couldn't move, not yet. I needed to rest. To think. I reached for my necklace, realizing that it wasn't there. And that's when the tears started.

Jake and Quil were dead. He killed them. I let out a choked laugh as I realized He was Edward. They were the same person...weren't they? I thought back to the nights I'd spent with Edward, trying to figure out any clue. Nothing came. He was so sweet and caring...and now he was trying to kill me. But he had saved Alice, didn't he? He pushed her out before the house could lock her in. But why did he lock the house in the first place?

Alice.

A new set of tears flowed. Was she okay? Was she circling the house trying to find away to get in? Or did she leave, go to get help? Hopefully she could navigate her way in this storm. If she could just get to that convenience store.

A loud bang to my right, where I had come through the mystery door, and I knew that he was in the closet. Scampering to my knees, I began to crawl away from the door using my hands to feel my way. I reached a fork a few feet down and quickly turned to the left, hoping this would take me somewhere safe. The passageway began to decline at an angle as the noises behind me fell into the distance the farther down I crawled.

My mind was reeling faster than I could keep up, just trying to make sense of it all. The one thing I kept going back to was my necklace. What did it mean and more importantly what did he think it meant?

_"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but notice your necklace. What is is?"  
_

_"Oh this? My mom gave it to me for graduation. It's some family heirloom or something."_

I paused as I remembered that first real conversation with Edward. He had always been interested in my necklace. I shook my head, I needed to keep moving. I turned another corner and was suddenly overwhelmed by the most putrid smell I'd ever encountered. It was like hitting a brick wall of garbage and I wondered if I was heading toward a garbage shoot. I sucked in a deep breath, vowing only to breath through my mouth and pressed on. My eyes began to water, signaling that I must be closer to the orgin of the smell. My hands blindly searched in front of me, tracing out my path. I couldn't stifle my cry as my hand bumped against something that wasn't the wall. Recoiling slightly, I tentatively reached my hand back out, closing it around the new object.

A flashlight!

My hands fumbled quickly until I found the button and then the hall was filled with light. I let out a cry of happiness as a loud bang echoed through the walls. I turned behind me shinning the light down the hall. Keeping one hand holding the flashlight, I began to crawl backwards. My heart was pounding in my ears, but I never took my eyes off of the hall, expecting to see Edward appear.

My free hand moved back, reaching for the ground, but instead of ground it was met with something soft...something wet.

My body began shaking as I slowly began to turn around, bringing the light with me. I couldn't hold the flashlight still as it slid over the walls, illuminating the spots red that was covering the walls. I didn't want to see what was behind me. But I knew that I had to. This was the only way out. I could do this. I drew in a shaky breath and turned the final way around...and found myself staring into the lifeless eyes of Jake.

And that's when the screaming began.


End file.
